A Frozen Sun
by The-Mighty-Third-Draft
Summary: The growing darkness gathers close. Lesser Lords come forth to seek the King's favour, and in these times of peril, men are driven to evil deeds. Thranduil must place his trust carefully now, in his family and his kin, as he manages his attraction to a troubled, unsuitable widow. Thranduil/OFC.
1. Prologue - A Shadow Past

**_Translations_**

_My daughter = Iellig _

* * *

**Prologue – A Shadow Past**

'_Cilbes_!'

He was calling her again. The sound of his voice reassured her._ Nothing is wrong. It is all a bad dream! Thank the Valar!_

'_Cilbes_!'

_We're home, in our cottage, and tomorrow I'll weed the vegetable garden again and Rosdaer will probably go hunting, and when he comes back he'll bring me a doe or a brace of rabbits, and we'll cook and eat together, and then make love. Like normal._ Smiling, Pephennas rolled over and reached for him, and her fingers found nothing but cold sheets. She opened her eyes. _Gone again_. The lamp had gone out hours ago, and the moon had come out to shine her silver face upon the room which had been her childhood chambers. A frisson of pain shot through her tender heart, and she forced back tears before they could come, before they could hurt.

She had been so sure this was the cottage in the woods where she had lived with Rosdaer, and that he was just gone to the next room to fetch a drink of water in the night. In the next room, her Mother and Father were having a hushed, tense discussion. Phe could just make out the words.

'She is young, Caduven. And she is not mended from Rosdaer.'

'That is hardly the most important thing!' then a pause. 'We cannot be here when he rises again. He would kill us all. I would see her wed and I do not care how she feels about it, I care only that she does her duty. As should you.'

Another pause.

'I do not want her so far from us.'

Caduven rolled over. Phe heard the bed springs. Then silence.

She slid out of bed and put a thin dressing gown over her nightdress. She gazed at the silent moon, and studied clearest details of her face, rarely seen. It was a little chill, even though it was late summer. She missed her garden in the woods, and their comfortable bed which Rosdaer had built himself from an old Oak, and even the empty cradle which they had been trying so hard to fill. She missed _him_. How the loss of him still hurt, especially thinking of his coppery hair and cheeky smile.

Rosdaer was no good with a bow but he was a master with wood. She smiled when she thought of the things he had made, and mourned the loss of his creative soul, and the trinkets he used to bring her to show her he still loved her as much as ever.

'_Cilbes_,' said a whispering wind, near her ear. She twitched and batted it away with her hand, suddenly tense. Her back had gone cold and goosepimpled.

'Stop it,' she breathed, automatically, even though she was not sure if it was real. _Do not talk to me. I do not want to remember. _

'_Cilbes_,' it said again. She shook her head, her eyes welling with tears. _That is not my name anymore. _

'Go away,' she choked, teetering on the edge of tears. The voice went silent.

_Pephennas_. Her new name was a shallow attempt to erase her past. Caduven would have forbidden all talk of Rosdaer is he could, but Phe was stubborn. He declared one night that an elf who could not defend himself was no fit husband. In dying, Rosdaer had become Caduven's greatest disappointment, and before he was cold, Phe was restyled an almost-maid whose experiences and personal trials were of as little importance to her family as her feelings.

**000**

The next morning, Caduven made his announcement over breakfast.

'We ride to the halls of Sindaroth, to the King. We must retie the old bonds with Thranduil. The Orcs have risen and behind them comes the darkness, and the darkness will come _here_ first before it ever reaches our noble lord. We must be ready.'

The way he said 'noble lord' made Phe think that he felt the opposite about Thranduil.

'You ride with us,_ Iellig_. It is time you made a new start.'

Phe's breakfast nearly rose up her gullet. She swallowed that back and said nothing, because nothing was all she was expected to say. _To marriage, _she thought._ He intends to give me to some stranger! _Under different circumstances Phe would have been curious to see the Elvenking's halls, and Thranduil himself, about whom she had read so many stories, but never imagined she might have chance to meet. That night she slept badly. She was troubled with fears for the journey, concerned by the number of Orcs on the road. And there was a darkness which followed her through her sleep, and an eye which she could never catch with her own gaze, but which she felt watching her back. She could feel it still in her mind when she rose_.  
_

**000**

The next morning, she mounted her horse and looked back at her childhood home. In years gone by she had thought it beautiful, a towering house hewn from the rock of a great volcanic plug, which overlooked the surrounding plains from the top of a great hill. It's architectural beauty was quite sublime, but it was a cold place, a house of worship in ruins. Poisoned were the memories of happier times, by the darkness which had grown inside her. Ivy had crept up the walls and put its destructive tendrils into all the gaps, and brought parts of it crashing down. There were no funds for repair, no funds for much now really. Phe was not foolish to believe that another marriage would be anything but an exercise in financial gain.

She gazed at the back of her father's head as they rode away. Caduvens leather coat had faded, his boots were polished to a shine but they wore the wear and tear of years. His long, dark hair, thinner than it used to be, was tied back tidily and always his beard was groomed. But he was an old elf from a young house, with no power or standing bar what marriage could buy. Phe was sure his sights were set on an escape from Middle Earth. An escape fit for a King. _To the Summer Isles. How he covets them!_

An un-daughterly feeling rose. How she hated him. His voice, his arrogance, his pride. His schemes. Caduven spoke to his captain of the guard.

'Be ready, Amomen. In case.'

Phe glanced at the folded green sigil on its long pole, strapped to the side of spare horse. She was to ride and dance and speak as prettily as was expected of her, to please her Father and the Elvenking. That much, Caduven had earlier made very plain. In her silent desperation, Phe looked back as their home disappeared between the trees, and the only break to the silence now was the trickling rivulet which had carved its way down the cliffs behind the house, into a small valley, and now it wound along the roadside, guiding the way to its grander cousin. And then on to Sindaroth, where fate awaited her like a spider in its web.

_I want to go home,_ she thought. _I want you to rise again for me Rosdaer. Please, do not leave me all alone. _


	2. The Weight Of Crowns

_There is a musical accompaniment to this story. One night it came on the radio and it struck me as the most perfect description of the mood throughout most of A Frozen Sun. It can be found on you tube. **Ralph Vaughan Williams - Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus.**  
_

**_Translations_**

_Forgive me/Sorry - Goheno nin_

_My Lady - Hiril Vuin _

_My lord - Hir vuin_

_My son = Ionneg _

_My daughter = Iellig _

_Ungol = Giant Spider_

* * *

**_1 - The Weight of Crowns_**

Thranduil set down his empty wine glass and a lanky, enthusiastic boy named Thandir refilled it for him. He was zealous and energetic boy who was very proud to be in the Kings service, a quality that Thranduil hoped he would lose when the novelty of being his personal man wore off. Steps announced Tauriel's presence. Thranduil did not turn. He gazed through the crystal glass and marveled at the starlight inside, and asked her;

'What news, then?'

'My lord. We have cleared the nest and burned the carcasses. It is unfortunate they managed to get so close. They must have come up in the night.'

'I would have preferred to hear that they have not managed to spawn within the Greenwood at all, Tauriel. But I suppose this will do.'

Tauriel sensed his disapproval. She was as concerned about their infestation as he was.

'Do you not think so?' he pressed her.

'Yes, my lord. We will double our efforts.'

'Sindaroth is our home,' he went on, as if he had not heard her. 'It is an impenetrable refuge, which has worn force _and _cunning and remained unbowed. It is the source of our strength and a reminder to our enemies of our reputation. Reputation is _everything_, Tauriel. Even one _Ungol_ within these halls and we will have carnage, and death. Keep them out of our beds and our food and our stores. Keep them off our cattle and horses. If they contaminate our grain before the winter? What then? Shall we starve?' he stepped closer to raise an eyebrow. 'It is your job to _protect_ us!'

'Yes, my lord,' Tauriel bowed her head.

'I am glad you understand,' he nodded. 'See it done.'

'My lord,' she nodded.

'Dismissed,' he said quietly, and turned back to the beautiful room, in which six or seven deep, bubbling pools had been arranged through a cavern floor, fed by hot springs deep under Sindaroth's foundations. Tauriel left a little heavier, a little darker. He was right of course. She did not want to see the elflings go hungry if she failed.

_They would stare at my back as if I am the cause, and blame me for their hunger_. Tauriel resolved to try harder.

**000**

That morning, Thranduil had instructed the First Mage to double the warding on the outer walls. That should have been enough to deter such foul evil, but still he went over in his mind the many ways in which an_ Ungol_ might infiltrate the caverns. Thranduil was not convinced of their mindlessness as others were. He suspected a fouler purpose, one more akin to the hive mind of bees. He did not want even one of them in here, near his children.

Thranduil sent Thandir to the kitchens with a rolled up scroll which was titled _Vegetarian Recipes _and began a slow walk to the guest rooms. He no more fancied a chilly night in his chambers without his furs than he did a meal made entirely of vegetation, but it was not worth risking offence, so they would all have to survive on lettuce and cucumbers until the guests were gone.

He stopped on the long walkway. The sound of his footfalls died in the fresh, sweet air. He tipped his head back. A warm breeze was blowing up from deep within the caverns. It stirred his hair and reminded him that it was still warm outside, still summer, even if the season grew late now.

Far above him a circle of tall windows emitted noxious air from the cooking fires and lower halls, all stuffy and warm, to the open world above. Just below them, smaller round portholes brought down cool air to ventilate the cavern system. Where the roots of ancient oaks had pierced the rocky ceiling, a cluster of spectacular creatures lived in harmony, radiated a bright, natural glow. _A beacon for spiders _he thought, chillingly._ We must set an extra watch there._

He went looking upstairs for his eldest daughter, Olerydes. He found only Anion, the boy he had taken in just a year past, piling up furs to be carried down. Anion was a skinny lad who liked nothing more than to climb, and who showed a great aptitude with horses and all beasts. His accent was still rather foreign, even though he now spoke flawless Sindarin. He had been in Mirkwood a year with his Father and a year with Thranduil. Anion had been much quieter since his Father's death. He still suffered awful nightmares and he would often crawl into Thranduil's bed at night, his cheeks wet with tears. It was always the spiders, because they had taken his _Ada_. Thranduil pitied him but not even a King could control his dreams.

'Bring them down, I will show you where to put them,' Thranduil held out a hand for Anion. As the boy passed Thranduil laid his palm lovingly on the top of his head and Anion smiled. He was only seven. He eased Thranduil's loneliness and tempered his consumption of wine. Olerydes had begged him to stop altogether but Thranduil was neither willing nor ready to hear that advice.

'Why do we move the furs?' Anion asked him, as he descended the great steps carefully, one foot feeling for the next step, one at a time. Thranduil laughed musically and laid another on top to make it even harder. The boy did not complain. He was strong and tough and Thranduil was so proud of him. Anion peered around his burden.

'Because Caduven and his family eat no meat, and we do not want to offend them.'

'Why?' Anion asked, taking a particularly large drop. Thranduil laughed and slid a hand into the furs. He lifted a few away so Anion could see properly, and he carried them while he explained.

'They believe that birds and beasts possess a soul. They do not take lives in case they deprive a soul of further experiences. Do you agree with them?'

'I am not sure,' Anion said honestly. 'I think if animals had souls we would know about it by now?'

Thranduil smiled at him. 'Has the master been teaching you his logic again? Think carefully. If we did not know the shape of the Greenwood we might assume it was square. What if the balloon had never been invented, hmm? Would we know the shape or would we guess it?'

Anion was thinking. He said; 'Guess. Does that mean Caduven is right?'

'Lord Caduven, when he is near you, and no, it does not mean he is right entirely. It means he is careful not to displease his gods for which you must not fault him. However, I have never seen a soul of an animal_ or_ an elf so I do not know if we have them.'

Thranduil glanced again the luminescent ceiling. He went on quietly. 'I do not believe their souls are greater than mine, Anion. My life is no more precious to the wretched monsters of this Middle Earth than the life of my horse! My family would defend me, my kinsmen. For the rest I have found it is better not to trust and not to give the benefit of the doubt.'

Thranduil gazed down at Anion, who was listening carefully. 'If you want to show compassion, my boy, do so in the way you think is best. But I have never seen a spider refuse a meal, so neither will I.'

Anion looked a bit worried at the mention of spiders. Of course, at seven, Anion had developed a bit of pride. He tried not to show any fear around Thranduil, who he respected more than anyone, and whose approval now meant everything.

'Anion? We grow stronger by what we eat, do we not?' Thranduil's voice lightened.

Anion nodded. That had been one of his recent lessons too.

'I think Lord Caduven will turn into a leaf,' Thranduil smiled. 'Maybe _you_ will turn into a lion.'

He laid his hand across the boys shoulders. 'Or a rabbit,' he added mischievously.

Anion did not like that. He dropped the furs in one quick shove and launched himself at Thranduil. '_You're_ a rabbit!' he yelled, over the Kings laughter. Anion was still wrestling him, and Thranduil was letting him win, when Legolas rounded a corner above. He slid down a long bough to pull Anion off Thranduil and set the boy back on his feet with a smile.

'Enough you rabble-rouser! Off you go. Salla has need of you in the kitchens!'

Smirking at Anion's bravery (and the growing strength which had roundly bruised his shoulder) Thranduil hauled himself back to his feet and set his crown straight.

'He grows stronger,' he smiled.

'And wilder,' Legolas said, disapprovingly. Thranduil bent to pick up the furs and handed them all to his oldest son.

'I believe I have seen boys wilder.'

'I was never so difficult,' Legolas argued.

Thranduil gazed at him askance for a moment, then he said softly, 'He has lost his Father, Legolas. His life has been _nothing_ but confusion since.'

'I-' Legolas started to say something but the weight of his Father's disapproval made him stumble. Then Thranduil laid a hand on his shoulder.

'What if you lost _your_ Ada?' he suggested.

'Do not tempt the fates. _Ada_. Do not even say it!' Legolas said quickly.

Legolas had grown tall, but Thranduil was taller. The boy stared up into his Fathers crystalline blue eyes. There was no one he respected more. The loss of Thranduil was not something Legolas could bear to conceive of. Just thinking of it sent a terrible chill down his spine. Thranduil knew it. He felt the same way every time Legolas tackled a spider, or fought an Orc. Thranduil's instincts warred against his common sense. He wanted to wrap the boy up in wool and keep him safe but Legolas was almost a man now and he would not benefit from his Father's interference any longer.

Thranduil's hand stroked softly down his back to rest at the spot midway between his shoulder blades. All such concerns flew the boys mind. The heat from Thranduil's palm radiated through his thin jacket to wrap around his heart and suddenly he felt comforted and safe, and so relaxed in the familiar security of his Father's presence. Thranduil gifted him with a rare, sweet smile.

'I will not leave you,' Thranduil promised him warmly. He cupped Legolas' face gently in one hand. 'My treasure.'

Legolas gave a tiny, imperceptible nod, as if to say he was comforted. Thranduil wanted to pull his son into an embrace but he spared the boy that, in case his colleagues were watching. He brushed past Legolas. As he descended the steps, his robe trailed behind him like milk. Warmer, happier, Legolas followed him to a storage room. 'In there.'

When Legolas returned, Thranduil was smiling softly as if he had never seen Legolas before. If he was not mistaken, his _Ada_ was about to get nostalgic again.

'How big you have gotten. I remember when I could hold you in my hands like this,' he held them both up to demonstrate. Legolas fairly squirmed. He was still young by the standards of elves, and he did not need reminding that he was yet to prove his ability and maturity in the way his Father had.

'_Ada_!' he pleaded with Thranduil not to embarrass him.

Thranduil dropped his hands and huffed; 'One day I will get you married and you will see for yourself!'

He strode away. Legolas thought of Tauriel, but said nothing.

**000**

Up from the south came an elf named Tindaer, traveling a little girl with golden curls whose parents had been lost to Orcs. Thranduil had first thought Anion would not be with him long, since his Mother was like to claim him back. After a short time though she had perished in the cold of her homeland, leaving the boy an orphan. The elven children had given Anion a nickname. _Half blood._ Anion did not like it. His elven blood was running cold enough towards them now to make him quite a lonely boy. Thranduil felt Anion needed a playmate and friend.

Tindaer climbed to the throne room with the girl on his hip. Thranduil pitied her. She was underfed. Her bones were small and she was a skinny little waif with a great mop of wild, curly hair. How frightened she must have been to find herself uprooted so suddenly. She hid behind Tindaer's leg and would not come out. Thranduil bent to smile at her and then he knelt. He could see only her feet, which were bare and dirty.

'Mmm,' he mused aloud in the common tongue, 'where could the little girl be?'

He moved Tindaer's cloth aside and chuckled; 'So you are not just a pair of feet! Come out and say hello to me.'

When the little girl didn't move. He went on, patiently, warmly, his gaze full of love.

'I am so glad to see you. I have a gift for you,' he produced a doll.

The little girl detached herself from Tindaer's legs slowly.

'Her name is Gwenthel,' Thranduil looked upon her with eyes that gleamed with unshed feelings. How long it had been since he had such a young child around! How nice it would be to be so distracted again. A warm, happy current uncoiled in his belly and wrapped around his spine. It prodded at his heart and suggested he was very close to falling in love. He smiled and brushed his fingers through the child's perfect golden curls. She seemed to like that. 'What is your name?' he asked her.

There was a pause, and when the girl had glanced to Tindaer to check she was safe enough, she said in a very shy little voice; 'Leesha.'

'I am Thranduil,' he smiled and bowed his head, though he didn't expect her to know their customs. Then suddenly, she gave him a pretty little curtsey and he found himself laughing at her sweetness. He smiled warmly and offered her his hand. 'You will be Eryssel, but we will call you Leesha for short,' he said. 'Do you like sweet berries, my Leesha?'

The little girl stepped closer. Thranduil let his eyes flicker closed, just for a moment. He breathed in the scent of the girl and listened with ears so sensitive they could have detected an ant in his bed. Colour flared around her and in an instant he sensed the weariness in her little hands from work, the sorrow for her parents and the blackness in her heart that suggested a grief much deeper than a child should know. Thranduil opened his eyes.

Leesha often glanced behind her to make sure Tindaer was still there. Every time she checked and he had not disappeared she grew a bit steadier. Thranduil filled his hand with berries and held them out. 'I'm sure you have never tried these. They are sweeter than honey.'

Tindaer backed away slowly and went so quietly from the room that Leesha did not turn to look at him. When she did glance back again, Thranduil reached for her hand and drew her closer. His touch distracted her, she seemed to enjoy it. Gwenthel came with her. Leesha was already holding onto her tightly. Thranduil wrapped his arm around her middle gently and sat her on his knee. Leesha took berry after berry from his open hand. Thranduil was right. She had rarely tasted any fruit and she ate them quickly and eagerly, until he laughed at her.

'We will be inseparable, you and I,' said Thranduil warmly, to the back of her head. 'Like the best of friends.'

'I'm cold,' Leesha said, in a shy little voice.

Thranduil reached for the cloak that he had left on the throne and wrapped it around her. He rubbed her back gently, and warmth began to return to her body. Along with it, the feeling of comfort and welcome, and Leesha relaxed. For days she had run and starved and slept in old crates and hidden from monsters. This big elf did not look like a monster and he had warm, caring hands.

'It is so cold outside,' he agreed. 'But we have a special magic in here that will keep us all warm enough, even when it snows. Soon you will feel it and you will be warm again.'

**000**

Thranduil walked the guest rooms once or twice to ensure nothing had been forgotten. The beds were beautifully made and the aides stood by ready to accept their guests. A scout returned from fifty miles south and reported the caravan was coming. There was nothing to do but wait the day or so that it would take them to arrive.

Legolas helped Anion into his new clothes and Leesha had been given a nap just to be on the safe side. Thranduil had settled himself with a large glass of wine and gathered his family to welcome them.

Legolas was resplendent in his best cloth. Anion stood beside him holding a gift for their guests and upon Thranduil's lap, her fingers recently cleaned of berry juice, Leesha seemed content to play with Gwenthel. She used Thranduil's freshly washed hair to make the doll very beautiful indeed. As Caduven arrived with his family and aides, Thranduil put a hand upon her head and said; 'will you go to Anion, my sweetling?'

She slid off his lap and went smiling to Legolas instead. He put a hand on the top of her head and offered her a small smile that suggested to Thranduil he was entirely lost with what to do with her. Thranduil hid a smile behind his hand. Anion and Leesha had filled a hole in his heart so large that Smaug himself could have flown into it wings spread. Haliel was almost four hundred years in her grave and still Thranduil felt lost without her. Never so whole, either, as when he had someone to care for.

_There is noone like your family, _Orophers voice cut across space and time to speak words of wisdom to his son. Thranduil remembered this speech from a night waiting for battle. _They are everything, past and future, hope for your name. When you are King you find that they and only they, will know you truly. The closer you let them be, the better King it will make you. You do not want to be so alone, Thranduil. It will be hard enough as it is._

There was pause. His Father went on._ Do not forget that when you are gone, they will tell your story! _Thranduil indulged a small smile that still felt painful, even years after his Father's death.

Leesha tugged on Anion's tunic and whispered that the pretty ladies were coming.

'Shut up!' he hissed, keen not to disappoint their Father or his guests.

**000**

'Sindaroth,' said Lord Caduven, as they separated from their aides and horses and passed over the bridge and through the great doors into Thranduil's realm. 'The realm of the Elvenking.'

The journey had taken far longer than Phe had anticipated but the sight of the capitol took her breath and her soreness away. In here the air was lighter than outside. In here it smelled of grass and roses, of flowers and freshness. Along the paths the grass grew in little clumps, so perfectly green that her eyes ached to look upon it all. A long and winding green road snaked through rooms so vast they might have come from one of her dreams. They trod walkways carved from the mighty roots of trees. Tall ceilings had been supported by ornate archways and bolstered with columns and pillars.

Waterfalls had carved their way through ancient rock and they cascaded into splash pools and wet-gardens and plunged deep to where the river coursed through Sindaroth's foundations. She could see distant steps in green land, where rice was growing. A great pond dominated the lowest floor. Within it, naked forms went to and fro, playing and laughing, their clothes strewn on the grass and their hair wet.

The roots of great trees had been fashioned and carved into bridges, benches and arbours, doorways and statues. Small trees grew from cracks in the walls and animals dashed to and fro, pursued by floating insects and seeds, which stirred with their passing and went billowing up to seed another generation.

It was labyrinthine and lovely. An indoor forest was just visible through a great archway. It sloped down into the distance. Phe was so excited to see it all. She was aware of the sigil in her hands but she was not looking at it.

It was so much bigger than Phe had expected. A city underground, buried so deep that the sun could not have shone here and yet it was so bright! A light was warm on her skin and suddenly she found her traveling cloak was too hot.

They were lead a twisting path and bought before a throne, which was backed by the largest antlers Phe had ever seen. She had heard tales of his steed, the giant elk he had befriended. She wondered if it was still alive.

Caduven had never spoken very highly of King Thranduil, calling him choosy, arrogant and disobedient to their traditions. Phe was certain her Father would forget these complaints now that he was within the King's halls and at his mercy.

Thranduil was a man whose immense presence was only boosted by his stature. His obscenely long hair must have been an encumbrance in battle. His skin and hair were as fair as moonlight and his piercing crystal blue eyes hinted at a dangerous and penetrating intelligence. He occupied the throne with a complete surety in his position of power, with an air of arrogance that made Phe wonder if he got by on attitude alone. Phe felt a strange sensation come over her on looking at him, like a reassuring warmth and contentment. It was strange to suddenly feel much better and she realized that for one hundred years she had been grieving without end for Rosdaer.

Perhaps Thranduil was so powerful he could take her grief away? She had heard that he had magic but until now she had not put much belief in that. The weight in her guts had eased a little bit and though her heart did not magically mend, she did feel relieved. Phe could see a tall boy who resembled his Father standing beside the throne. He had the same bearing, proud and strong, but a certain innocence too that suggested he was a young man yet, and not quite ready for his Father's crown. There were some children too, but they must have been someone elses. There was no resemblance there, except in the oldest girl, who was dark of hair and eyes but had inherited Thranduil's cheekbones and his height.

Caduven spoke first with a deep, lasting bow.

'King Thranduil, Lord of the Greenwood! It gives me great pleasure to look upon your halls once more.'

Phe could see four rings on Thranduil's hands and one she recognized as the symbol of his power, the white gem his Father had worn before him.

'You are welcome here, Caduven, Lord of the Plains. I am glad to see you arrived safely.'

_Oh, what a strange voice you have. Your tone is almost cold and your face is without real warmth but you sound like music, wild and free, and beautiful.  
_

The Elvenking was so beautiful that Phe gazed at him, enchanted by his soft skin and perfect white blonde hair. There was an air about him of great depth and intelligence, hidden behind a mask, and he exuded such power that he made her nervous simply with his gaze.

'We met Orcs on the road my Lord, but they were few in number and dissuaded from serious harm by your own escort.'

'Orcs?' Thranduil sat forward.

'On the Eastern byway. We tried to gain some time.'

Thranduil gestured to one of his guards.

'Take a patrol to the eastern byway and slaughter any Orc you find there. I want their heads returned to me so that I can mount them on the borders of the Greenwood as a message,' Thranduil turned back to his guests. '_Goheno nin_, Lord Caduven. We will clear the roads and byways again. There are so many. On your return my kinsmen will escort you.'

'Thank you, my King,' Caduven bowed.

Thranduil addressed them again; 'The nights grow longer and darker, and the cold _bites._ In the darkness all foul things climb forth, to stain the land and put fear in the hearts of men and elves. May Sindaroth be a refuge for you as it has been for my kinsmen.'

Then Caduven's wife stepped forward to bow and speak. Her hair was the color of the darkest wood and it fell in lovely ringlets to her waist. A few lines about her eyes suggested a lady of advancing years. Thranduil found her very pleasing to his eyes.

'Our thanks, my King. I am Faendis, Wife to Lord Caduven and this is my daughter, Pephennas.'

'_Hir vuin_?' her voice was as soft as a tinkling stream.

Thranduil turned to see her hiding behind a sigil. He found Pephennas very comely indeed. She had inherited her mothers slight frame and beautiful hair and her Father's dark, mysterious eyes. Along with them, his fine cheekbones. Warmth crept up his spine and awakened a silver thread of desire, a dragon he had not faced in some time. She bowed her head to show him the gems woven into her hair.

_Yes, this must be Caduven's only daughter_._ She is definitely blessed with beauty!_

Thranduil rose, leaving behind his crimson cloak to descend like a star made of flesh, whose silent footfalls were ghostly in the quiet.

'_Hiril vuin_,' he acknowledged her with a bow, his frozen eyes drinking in her face.

'I have felt the growing darkness and seen the beasts who stalk the night. It grows worse with each new moon, and a great Presence haunts my sleep. Is it true, my lord? Does the Power mass beyond the mountains?'

Thranduil thought of his dreams and the great lidless eye that had become more and more prevalent. Olerydes too, with her strange abilities, had detected the coming of a great darkness, hidden from view.

'I would not speak of it before innocence,' he drew closer, as close as was decent. She smelled of jasmine.

'If you know it, my lord, tell me?'

Then she met his eyes and Thranduil felt the dragon open its mouth and fill its lungs, and he was falling without wings. His brow knitted together. He nodded, imperceptibly. 'It _lives_. I too feel its breath on my neck, as hot as dragonfire. It chases me through a ruined house. There is a Power, and it will soon test us all.'

Phe nodded.

'I feel it draining the land and taking strength from me,' she forced a more polite smile, and tried to take her mind from the shadows. 'I am glad I am not alone.'

She stopped and gazed at her feet a moment, ashamed.

'Long have I desired to see the Greenwood. I only wish I had seen it at high Summer.'

Thranduil inclined his head. What had passed between them now was gone, and Phe felt as if the King could detect her false courtesies.

'Your kind words do your Father honour.'

Phe dropped her gaze, a little embarrassed. But then he went on; 'I would show you high summer, if I had the power.'

He sensed she did not know how to please him but Thranduil was pleased just to look at her.

'Alas, I think you do not have that power, _hir nin_,' she hid her eyes but smiled widely. 'But do not despair. I will enjoy the Autumn and then the deep sleep of winter, and the sight and sound and touch of Summer will be my hope.'

'That is a unique gift, _hiril vuin,_' he offered her a thin smile, 'to find hope even in the death of beauty. I wish you would teach me, it would be useful,' he was being wry. Perhaps Caduven thought he was displeased.

'Pephennas, apologise.'

'No need,' Thranduil held up a hand. 'I am not offended by her.'

'There is always hope,' Pephennas said then.

Thranduil found himself amused. He wanted her to raise her chin and reveal her eyes again but she seemed content to stare at his boots.

_So this is your plan my lord. You bring me a blushing bride, a rose bud, in return for my favour. If I fall when the Power rises, you will sit firm upon the Summer Isles, for that must surely be your goal.  
_

Thranduil was insulted by the attempted deception but he had expected no less from Lord Caduven, a known craven and liar.

_Oh, but you are lovely, my lady, _he thought mournfully._  
_

Thranduil gestured to her gown. He had seen the butterflies embroidered on the sash. He spoke on softly;

'Butterflies must fly or freeze at the first sign of Winter. Curling their little toes on cold branches and wishing for fur jackets. How frightened they must be. All perish.'

Phe's heart beat wildly and guilt rose in her gullet, because she found him so comely. Rosdaer would have laughed at her for her naivete and taken her home to remind her why he had married her in the first place. When she dared to meet the Kings eyes a warmth wrapped around her insides and mended her aching heart. He smelled like rain and warmth and he was so captivating that she wanted to lean closer.

'Or weather it under a leaf,' she said with a smile.

Thranduil knew he was being watched. No doubt her Father would be hoping for a quick courtship and a speedy marriage so that he could dip his hand into the treasury. He hoped his eyes were saying what his lips could not. _You are lovely, my lady. Know it so that you never lose that grace and hopeful innocence! But I have no desire for another marriage. Yours was a wasted journey. How beautiful you are.  
_

'Hope,' he finally turned back to her Father. 'Is that not why you have come? Hope is built from alliances and loyalty and courage. The elves must come together to defend what they have built. Is that not so?'

'Yes, my lord,' Caduven bowed again. 'We hope you will find value in our contribution. Indeed these are dark times.'

Thranduil's gaze wandered to Phe, who now out of public scrutiny was watching him with interest. A small smile lifted his lips. A slight encouragement. _Come to me_, he thought. _Even if it is only to my bed, where noone can see._ She returned it shyly. Thranduil was gratified by her blush, and it woke his body in turn and made him crave the touch of another.

'These are my children. My son, Legolas, Prince of the Greenwood. My daughters Olerydes and Lilia, and Anion who has come from the South to join my house,' Thranduil gestured Anion forward and he came to present the gift, nervously, then Leesha detached from the line up and ran to Thranduil, grinning. She hid behind his overcoat and hugged his left leg. She was warm and had not long woken from her nap. Thranduil bent to scoop her up. He bounced her. She smiled widely at him, filling his heart with a light, airy buoyancy that would have lead him to play like a little boy again just to make her smile.

'She grows bigger by the day. This is little Leesha, who is new to us. Just a few days. She came from a village in the South to be sister to Anion and daughter to my house. Go to Legolas, my sweetling,' he set her down. 'Come, my kinsmen will show you to your chambers! Soon there will be wine and food for your enjoyment and fine music!'

Pephennas bowed and turned away to follow her family and she cast one last look at Thranduil. He indulged one last look at her.

**000**

Thranduil drank a great deal of wine on the night of the feast. Phe wondered if it was his magic that kept him from falling asleep. It was very hot in the hall and Phe was unused to so many guests. She would have found her horse, Maenith, better company than the Lord and Lady beside her, who seemed to like only to talk about their dogs. She was about to rise when Faendis tapped her arm.

'Pephennas, you must give us a dance! This is your favourite composition.'

Phe nodded in acquiescence and made to rise.

'A dance!' declared the dog-Lady. 'Well! We did not know she dances!'

'I do, my Lady,' Phe rose. 'But I am hardly the best you will ever see.'

Phe did as she was bid. She shed the shawl that had been keeping her shoulders warm and draped it carefully over her cushion. She slipped out of her shoes. She felt their eyes on her and nodded apologetically to the women who had been asked to entertain this evening. When she had begun she chanced a glance at the King, who was watching her with eyes like the Winter sky. He seemed so immovable, so unapproachable and yet his cold gaze put warmth inside her and made her flush. His pointed crown reminded Phe of a weapon. He watched the night proceed as if no part of it could overwhelm him. He seemed stronger than the pillars that held up the caverns. Phe wondered if he truly was, or if a lie told often enough had become his truth.

She danced and enjoyed the sounds and smiles of appreciation and understanding. Some in the audience must have been well versed in the meaning of this dance. Those who were older, or had a passion for dance itself no doubt. When she stopped, her fingers and toes vibrantly alive with exercise, she was greeted by a round of applause. She slunk back to the table, shy.

'An interesting interpretation,' said the King, whose glass was being refilled by a nervous young boy. 'I have never seen that ended in such a way.'

'Did it please you, my lord?' she asked him, nervously, while her heart fluttered.

'It did. But I am confused. Why did the sun not rise again? The Winter Dance ends with light, not darkness my lady.'

'Yes, my lord,' she smiled. 'It is supposed to. The sun did not fail to rise. It rose frozen.'

'Frozen?' he questioned and then he formed his hands elegantly into the same shapes she had made and smiled a thin smile. 'A frozen sun?'

'Yes,' Phe said. 'It is how I feel about the Winter.'

'Apt,' he said. His mouth lifted into a smile that showed his teeth. Phe found herself breathless. 'It does feel as if it will never rise again. But I thought you said you could find hope anywhere?'

'It is not a hopeless ending,' Phe smiled and she made the symbol for spring with her fingers. 'Just the beginning of the next dance.'

Thranduil's eyes tinged with laughter, then he chuckled into his wine. Phe smiled, and continued her meal, pleased with herself.

**000**

Phe sighed a warm breath into the cool evening. The stars shone like glittering jewels and the forest whispered in its ancient language. There had been no talk of an engagement so far. Phe had expected to be introduced to an eligible young man tonight. She wondered who the lucky elf was.

_Perhaps I misunderstood him? Perhaps I was asked here because they did not wish to leave me behind? I may have been too hasty._

Phe did not want to be a wife again. Thinking of it made her belly knot and burn. She felt as if she should cringe away from all love and warmth. She had felt the heat of love for another without reserve and now it had been torn away so suddenly, Phe was sure she would never love again. Her heart lay dormant and lonely in her breast, nursing its broken strings. How she missed Rosdaer, her copper-haired prince. How she resented so much that her life had become.

_If nothing else, the elvenking has exceeded my expectations. How soft and warm he is with that girl, as if she were his own kin! If I were to marry again one day, I would wish for a husband every bit as sweet as he is. _

She smiled to herself suddenly. _And how beautiful too. The way his hair flows is quite captivating...and he looks at me as if he sees through me. He sees through me and does not dislike what is inside. I like him just for that.  
_

Phe nearly yelped when the one she was thinking of made himself known behind her. It was as if she had tempted fate. It gave her a chill.

'_Hiril nin_. Are you not enjoying my feast?'

Quickly she bowed her head to him but he only laughed.

'I startled you. _Goheno nin_, my lady!'

'No, the fault is mine, I was far away. I was daydreaming. The feast is magnificent.'

Thranduil chuckled. In his hand, wine as intense as a true ruby. He pointed a finger at her and said,

'I have never heard such careful words. Speak freely to me. Do not be afraid. Tonight is a night for celebration. A night to make friends.'

'I fear giving offence,' Phe bowed her head again.

She felt vulnerable here. She felt as if she was alone without defence. Thranduil blocked the doorway. His shadow was long and broad. Phe did not trust herself not to blush. Then Thranduil moved with the soft hiss of fabric and leaned on the balcony beside her. He set his glass down with a chink.

'Much rides on your visit,' he said, more soberly. 'Your father's reputation. Your mothers. Your own.'

'Yes,' Phe nodded, somewhat relieved that he seemed to understand her position. 'It is hard to bear. I have never been to court before. There are so many people here and I am nervous in a crowd,' she smiled to him shyly.

In a way she wanted to run away now and let someone else please the King. _He has shown me favour by coming to speak to me._ Phe had read stories of his chopping off heads and locking elves in dungeons for centuries.

'You are burdened,' he said. Then he went on; 'It is not you I study most closely. I do not make alliances with Lord Caduvens daughter.'

'I understand, my lord,' Phe said quickly. 'I _am_ burdened, but it is a necessary burden I must carry honorably.'

'Yes, we all have one of those,' he agreed. 'First it is marriage and then it is duty.'

Phe smiled at the floor. A warm, gentle finger hooked under chin and pulled her head up. Thranduil memorised her shock and searched her face for signs of arousal. He found her breathless and doe-eyed and then her cheeks flushed very red and she licked her lips nervously. His leggings were suddenly too tight, his chest constricted.

'I would have you look at me when you talk to me,' he released her gently. The ghost of warmth persisted on her skin for a few seconds and Phe almost lost her voice.

'Y-Yes, my lord.'

'No doubt you have been informed of my cruelty and malice, and my short temper.'

'Everyone hears stories my lord. I do not always believe what I hear.'

Thranduil cast her a look. Phe felt he was not entertained by her response.

'We all of us believe what our Fathers say,' he said, but before she could defend her family he added, 'It is true. I am malicious to my enemies and cruel to those who would be cruel to me. My temper is short. But you know only the half the story of King Thranduil.'

'You _are_ very different to how I imagined you, my lord.'

'In what way?'

Phe chanced a small smile.

'Wiser,' she whispered.

Thranduil was certain the lady was hiding behind her courtesies. Of course she would, she was a Lords daughter. But Thranduil had little patience for courtesies. They were false and he did not like falseness. Caduvens best and worst were buried in this girls personality and Thranduil would find that window very useful, if he could just open it.

'You too are different,' he agreed. 'More beautiful.'

Phe felt his gaze linger on her lips. Once it dived into the shadows between her breasts.

'My books made you handsome but they did not do you justice, King Thranduil.'

Thranduil only smiled and with a bow of his head he was about to speak, when he heard a raised voice buried deep within the noise of the feast.

'Forgive me,' he said.

He left to seek out Leesha. She was fighting with Anion. Thranduil could feel Phe's gaze on his back. He scooped the little girl up and chanced a glance at the balcony. Phe was still gazing at him. Satisfied in her desire for him, Thranduil dropped his face to Leesha's hair and said unhappily;  
'To bed with you, you have been making trouble behind my back.'

Then as he carried her up the stairs, he willed the Valar silently; _Do not ask me. __Do not make me refuse her. She is beautiful, but naive. And there are secrets in that family. I do not care for secrets._

* * *

_A/N - A few notes.  
_

_Thranduil is based on the movie, not the book. Phe, Faendis, Caduven, Olerydes, Anion and Leesha are my creations._

_Most of the names were generated by the elf name generator at elfnamegenratorfun dot com (For generating your Sindarin elf name.) A google search will turn up the name generator if you wish to use it.  
_

_Translations taken from arwen-undomiel dot com ( wont let me post a full link to credit them) but again a google search will turn them up.  
_

_No copyright infringement intended ;) Happy reading and please drop a review if you can._


	3. The Rising Dark

_**2. The Rising Dark**_

Phe discovered a room in the foundations that attached to the great, indoor forest. Inside, she took off her slippers and walked barefoot on the dry, warm grass. She strolled past a grove of apple trees to where a glade waited, thick with flowers and shrubs. She took a deep breath of that clean, wonderful air and slid onto a bench to watch the birds. Sindaroth was like a fairy dream. In her whole life she had never seen anywhere so beautiful. She had not expected the caverns to contain so much. She had imagined they would be dry and dark and without greenery, but it was as if Thranduil had bought the sun down here. This isolated garden she had found was the perfect place to be alone.

_You would say it was pretentious and overdone, Rosdaer._

Her bed here was so soft and warm that she had not wanted to rise from it. The caverns seemed to instil a sense of peace in her, a feeling of tranquil restfulness that she had not felt in a century. Phe dipped her toes in a fish pond that was so big and deep that it seemed more of a lake. She found it warm and soft and soothing. How she wanted to take a swim in it, just to lower herself into the warmth and enjoy the way the fish went lazily to and fro!

She drew up her gown a little way and dangled her feet in. The giant karp rose to eye her but they were afraid to come too close. At the slightest movement they submerged again. A small noise startled her. Footfalls so soft they might have come from a deer. Suddenly there was a woman beside her, her reflection disturbed by the movement of the fishes fins.

Phe gave a gasp and clutched her heart. She turned to face the dark haired girl that had been standing beside the Kings throne on the day of her arrival.

'_Goheno nin!_' said the girl quickly, both hands held out as if to say, it is alright to be calm. 'I did not mean to make you jump in!' she smiled.

Phe stood quickly.

'Forgive me. I was just...looking around.'

Olerydes studied her with dark, beautiful eyes so big that they were like the eyes of some wild animal, though softer. She was fair skinned and comely, slim and fit, and quite a bit taller than Phe. She clearly rook after her Father in that.

'You are Olerydes,' Phe said suddenly. 'I know you from the day I arrived. You were beside the throne. Thranduil's daughter.'

A small smile graced the girls lips, and it reminded Phe awfully of her Father.

'Yes. And you are Lord Caduven's daughter. Once married I hear, though your husband is not here?'

'No,' Phe was not sure how to say it. 'No, he is not. He is dead. I am a widow.'

'Oh,' Olerydes said softly. 'I am sorry.'

She glanced at the pool, disinclined to push for further information.

'You can swim in it if you want to. I do it all the time. People hardly ever come in here and when they do they expect to see me naked! That is probably why they stay away!'

Phe tried to keep her face straight but she ended up laughing. Olerydes grinned, pleased with her own joke. Phe found her warming and calm and not as threatening as she had first imagined. Olerydes was beautiful but she had quite a stern face and a tendency to purse her lips when she was thinking. It reminded Phe of an expression her old school master used to use when he was displeased but Olerydes seemed to be more fun than he was.

'Do they bite?' Phe peered over at the fishes, who cruised lazily by like little boats, looking for food or entertainment.

'No,' Olerydes bent and dripped her hand in, and to Phe's surprise three or four of the big fish changed course and came to rub against her skin and nibble her fingers.

'You have a way with animals,' Phe noted.

'Yes. It is a gift that runs in our family. My Father has it too.'

Olerydes smiled. Phe was surprised by how it transformed her face. She looked far less serious and Phe suddenly found herself at home beside her.

'Can you swim?' Olerydes asked. 'If you are not bashful I will show you the caverns,' Olerydes said then. 'The water gets a little colder as you go inside but it is worth it for the lights. Do you want to see?'

Phe smiled.

'Someone might walk in on us!'

Olerydes shrugged.

'I could not care,' she said. 'They have seen it before. Besides. This is my room, my _father's_ room. Let them speak. I will shut them up.'

Olerydes truly was not bashful. She took off her clothes and folded them on the side, then slid into the water feet first. As she waded out, her hair got wet and stuck to her hips and finally she sank into the pool. Phe followed her, a little self conscious it was true, but Olerydes' confidence seemed to lend her a little courage. She followed the princess far out into the pool.

The fish came close to Olerydes to rub against her and she smiled and stroked their passing backs. After a bit of tentative investigation around Phe, they left both girls alone and submerged themselves in search of the things fish seek. Olerydes bought her to a rocky overhang far out into the water and took her through hanging plants, into a dark space where it was stuffier and cooler and the current was a little stronger.

'Is it a cave?' Phe asked.

'Yes,' said Olerydes. 'It is very old. This pool is natural, it was here when _Ada_ first came to Sindaroth. He grew the wood around it.'

Slowly they drifted deeper in and for a minute or two there was no light. Phe followed the splashes that Olerydes made. She felt her way along the wet cavern wall and then, as Phe's eyes adjusted to the darkness, she began to see the lights ahead. She drifted out of the tunnel to where the cavern opened out. Then Olerydes splashed loudly. The light ignited suddenly and what had been only dim illumination became so bright that Phe could see her hands and reflection. At first they were still and white, like stars. Then they began to ripple.

Like a wave it went, the subtle emanations of a million tiny organisms, strung from the cave roof. Slowly at first and then stronger until the ceiling seemed to undulate. It made Phe dizzy and weightless but she gasped in delight. Her voice echoed around the cavern. The rock had grown wonderful structures over the aeons, dangling formations and pillars and beautiful curtains made of limestone and the deeper they swam the colder Phe became, but never so cold that she felt the desire to turn back.

At the back of the cavern there was a great white crystal jutting from the water. It was as thick as a horses body and so clear and crisp except for a few tiny imperfections in its interior. Phe gazed into it, her hands below the water. It was warm and smooth as glass.

'What do you see in it? Anything?' Olerydes asked. She peered into it from the other side and her eye magnified. Phe laughed and poked the mirage with her finger.

'Your eyeball!' she giggled. 'And a forest. I see a pine wood in there, all strewn with snow. It is beautiful!'

Olerydes smiled widely.

'I see a mountain,' she said. 'I have always wanted to climb a mountain but the nearest is Erebor and it is far too dangerous. I think _Ada_ might let me go when I am a bit older, if Legolas will come with me.'

In a flurry, bats came around from some aerial spot no doubt connected to the outdoors and fluttered by emitting their high pitched squeaks, never touching a strand of Phe's hair. They went careening up a great, rocky flue into darkness. Phe smiled at the lights as they flushed blue and white and the whole ceiling rocked like waves with their passing.

'So...have you been promised to someone then? Is that why you are here?' Olerydes asked her, coming around the crystal to tread water beside her.

'I do no think so,' Phe said. Her dark hair had streamed out in the water like a slick of oil, and now it settled to tickle her back and buttocks. '_Ada_ has said nothing of a marriage since we arrived. I confess I did think that at first, since this is surely a job for he and my Mother. Perhaps they did not want to leave me behind?'

Olerydes nodded.

'What is your homeland like?'

'Nothing like this,' Phe said. 'Not so grand. It is quite beautiful. Hilly and green, but quite flat. A river flows not far from our door. Wild ponies live on the plains, and some tribes too. They use feathers in their hair and ride the wild horses.'

'Do you like to hunt?' Oleryde asked, before she remembered something. 'Oh, I forget, you eat no meat. I let my brother do the hunting. He is better with a bow. I am no use with a sword either, though he says I am deadly with a dagger! I am much better at putting people back together, like my Father is.'

'But...Thranduil is a great warrior. There are songs about his skill in battle,' Phe was surprised.

Olerydes nodded.

'Yes, but he is a very gifted healer too. I think he feels a little guilty, to be honest, for all the times he has taken lives. Of course he does not speak of it exactly but he tries to make amends. Do you follow the old Way or the new?' Olerydes said.

'The new,' Phe said.

'Well, we follow the old, and old says it is not good to take life. They count against us when we pass over.'

'But you eat flesh,' Phe said.

'There is an exception for that.'

'Oh,' Phe nodded, privately thinking that the two were the same. 'I see.'

'Anyway, 'Olerydes went on, as they floated back to the world. 'It is mostly for the warriors. For their strength.'

**000**

It was late, after supper, that Faendis pulled her daughter aside.

'You are to impress King Thranduil at all costs, Pephennas.'

'I know, Mother.'

'No, you do not know how important this is. Make him happy.'

Phe just nodded. In her heart, a sinking feeling began to grow as she suspected again, the worst. Perhaps it was the boy, Legolas, to whom she had been promised? He seemed very serious for such a young man. Though strong and obviously capable, not warm enough for her liking.

**000**

The next morning as they mounted their horses, Phe was feeling tired. The moon was almost full and she felt bloated and sluggish. She did not want to go for a ride at all. Then she saw that they were to be joined by the King and his son and she understood why her Mother had insisted.

Thranduil caught the reins of a great, white horse that had been trotted out by his aide. He drew it to a stop not far from her own. His mane had been left to grow and he was a beautiful, broad shouldered creature with blue eyes and a sweet, pink muzzle. He wore a white blanket and a matching saddle and Thranduil patted his neck as if they were old friends.

A cramp rippled through Phe's belly. She turned to face her horse so that she could wince without being seen. She had been grateful to avoid her moon blood on the journey but now her lateness had caught up with her and brought on vicious pain. She wished fervently she could go back to the caverns and return to her bed. She could have an aide bring her something hot to drink and sleep away the worst of it. It was not to be. After a minute, the pain faded away and Phe could breathe easy again.

She spied the late blooming flowers that lined the path down to the Greenwood and a smile burst forth. They were failing in the Autumn chill. Not even the magic of the Elvenking could keep them alive now. Their tired heads drooped on soft stems to touch noses with the ground.

'The flowers look as if they are going to sleep on their feet!' she exclaimed.

Thranduil turned, surprised. For a moment his gaze roamed her face, found her cheeks pale and her eyes tired. He smiled at her innocence and Phe went suddenly warm in her face. Then he said;

'I have never heard it described that way, _hiril vuin._'

Phe smiled at him, and for the briefest moment his lips turned up and she saw a hint of real enjoyment around his eyes.

_** He** is not too serious_, Phe thought. She had imagined that he would be quite overbearing at first, but now that image was fading to be replaced by a clever King with eyes that saw into tomorrow. And then, as if realisation came slowly to the more innocent, Phe realised what was happening.

_It is not Legolas! It is Thranduil! Of course, he has no wife and he clearly desires more children!_ Her heart began to thump and suddenly she was breathless and delighted, warm and excited. But then she became guilty. To cast off Rosdaer just because her intended had a pretty face? Phe felt the guilt like a pain in her heart. Her silence had been noted only by her Mother. _  
_

'King Thranduil, will we not be seeing your legendary steed?' Faendis leaned around her grey mare to ask.

'Alas, no, the path is too narrow for him.'

Fae cast an urgent glance at Phe. _Talk_, it seemed to say._ Make him feel as if you like him, as if you find his every joke amusing, as if you have eyes for only he._

How could she have been promised to the King? Suddenly Phe felt a bit dizzy. She grabbed Maenith's saddle and tried to steady herself. It worked.

'Is it true he is eighteen hands high my lord?' she asked, to cover her discomfort and shock.

'He seems larger with his antlers.'

Every time his crystal blue gaze met hers a little butterfly of excitement went down to her toes and back and made her feel like she wanted to smile for him. Again she thought; _he is so beautiful_. _Cold and crisp and very intimidating, but so handsome._

'And a name my lord? Does he have one?'

Another cramp shot through her belly and this time Phe had to school her face with some determination. She focused on a hair on her horses neck and breathed deeply. Her pains were particularly bad today. Riding would be uncomfortable.

'He is called Lavachon,' Thranduil said, and then he turned to offer Phe his gloved hand.

She caught his eyes and held them. _He sees through me,_ she thought. A happy little shock went up her spine.

'You are very kind, _hir vuin_,' she said gratefully.

It was the easiest time Phe had ever had getting on a horse. The King hand strong arms and Phe felt safe in his hands. She was shamefully excited to be so close to him. He smelled of some oil or other, perhaps a musk, and it was turning her head and making her dream of him. Then a little thought crept out of the darkness of her forgotten desire and announced itself; Rosdaer was always quite proud of his muscles. Was Thranduil the same? When they were married would he boast about his biceps and make sure his belly stayed flat? Phe imagined laying beneath hm. Would he be gentle or rough? Sweet or businesslike? She imagined he would probably be brisk and want only children from her and that thought made her feel a little sad.

Legolas' horse snorted out a breath of air that tickled the tail hairs of Thranduil's mount and made him twitch and stamp his hind foot in irritation.

'How did you tame Lavachon, _hir vuin_?' she asked.

Thranduil did not want to tell that story. That gift ran in his family but he had always been reluctant to talk about it.

'I did not tame him_, hiril vuin_. He has chosen to be with me or I would set him free. He is my brother. We share a kinship.'

Legolas drew level with Thranduil's horse. He leaned over a little to assure her; 'He is quite beautiful. A remarkable animal.'

_Legolas is handsome, and he does have a becoming smile. But he is not his Father, for certain. Thranduil had grace that Legolas lacks. I would choose his Father._ Phe tore her eyes off the King, before anyone saw her thinking.

Together they rode two abreast along the winding woodland paths and Legolas pointed out the sights of interest to the guests. Behind them, Anion had been asked to come but instructed to listen and not say much unless spoken to. Thranduil hoped Caduven would reveal his reasons for his visit but he seemed frustratingly content to grace Thranduil with his finest manners and not say much of interest. In a mile or so, Fae was pulled to look at a baby river which rushed down a deep chasm in the rock. Phe too, peered over into a fairy glade and marveled, distracted from her pain. When she rejoined the path she was happy to find herself accidentally beside the King.

'I fancy I can see fairies down there, my lord,' she smiled. 'I have always wanted to see a fairy! I hear they are only as big as your thumb, and quite beautiful.'

'They are secretive creatures.'

'Have you seen one?' she asked curiously.

'Yes,' a small nod. 'You have never seen a fairy?' he seemed a bit surprised.

'No, my lord. I...do not think I have ever really believed enough.'

Thranduil arched an eyebrow. 'We should change that.'

Phe smiled. 'The Greenwood is so beautiful, my lord. But...there is a darkness here that I-' she stopped and gazed into the sharp blue eyes and stopped. 'Forgive me, my lord. It is a feeling, that is all.'

Thranduil cast a glance behind for Anion. The boy was riding a little way behind, but Thranduil was not too concerned. This area was too close to his halls to contain any danger. Then Phe spied a clearing, and smelled warmth.

'You are guided by your feelings,' he observed.

Phe lost a bit of her confidence. She nodded shyly, but the King only offered her another of those small smiles.

'Yes, my lord.'

'Intuition is a great gift, _hiril vuin_. Do not be embarrassed.'

Phe smiled despite herself as her confidence came back. _He is not laughing at me, nor calling me weak._

'Are those hot pools I see between the trees?'

A nod.

'There is a book at home where the lady bathes in the hot pools and there she meets a spirit,' Phe smiled. 'He becomes her husband. A strange tale, but it used to amuse me as a girl!'

'A spirit?' Thranduil kicked his horse and drew level with her. 'I have never heard of a woman falling in love with a spirit. Do you believe such things?'

Phe lifted one shoulder in a delicate shrug.

'I am not sure if I believe it, but it is a story about how love always triumphs, my lord. That is why I like it.'

The King gazed at her for a moment as their horses walked. Then he turned his head to watch the path.

'Perhaps it is. I would like to read it.'

'Oh,' Phe offered him a conciliatory smile. 'I left it behind.'

'It is no trouble,' he said. 'I am sure I can find it from somewhere.'

Her parents fell behind.

Phe took her horse forward for a better look at the pools but inside the clearing she began to feel something was wrong. So far, Maenith had handled the soft ground well and seemed relaxed enough. Now she was ill at ease. One soft footfall she placed after another, tentatively. Her unshod feet tested the ground. Her eyes and ears checked and rechecked every angle for signs of what she could undoubtedly smell. Phe stroked her neck warmly and whispered;_ 'Easy my love. Easy, there is no harm going to befall us here.'_

Phe sensed that Maenith was still tense. Then Phe saw a blotch that shifted about in the rising hot water, tipping to and fro like an ugly boat. Its huge legs were curled around. It was clearly dead but Phe still pulled back in horror. Thranduil drew his horse up sharply beside her and held out a hand to hold her back from further exploration. his fingertips touched her wrist. Phe flushed pink and warm in her face, and unexpectedly between her legs and could not resist the urge to gaze at him, and wonder if he secretly wanted to touch her more intimately.

'It must have fallen into the water-' Phe said, to soothe her own fears and distract herself.

'Get back to the caverns!' he commanded her. 'Anion!' he cried into the trees. 'Where are you?!'

A dark shadow crossed the path behind them. Thranduil twisted, his eyes and ears suddenly alert. Maenith tensed and lifted her front legs. Phe prepared herself for a sharp jerk and a sudden fall but Thranduil grabbed her bridle and tugged the horse down. Relief washed over Phe. Maenith had never thrown her. Then a creeping cold descended over the back of her neck. Phe looked up and screamed, until she realised the dangling spider was dead.

It spun slowly in the web over their heads. They were so vast and dense she could have gotten lost in their maze. Behind the carcass and the gossamer white, an awful shadow moved. It began to creep down the long funnel to the ground. Then far off in the trees, Anion cried out and Thranduil spun to the sound of hooves. He listened. A brief silence. His horse must have jumped. There was a thud as it landed, the shriek of a wounded horse and a scream as Anion rolled into the brush.

Thranduil's lungs seized but he could do nothing except hold Phe's frightened horse and listen to the boy run. Then he heard the whisper of an arrow and suddenly there were running feet and Anion burst through the clearing on the other side, tears streaming down his face. He ran, jumping pools to reach Thranduil, a spider closing in behind him. Skipping branches, Legolas ran above him pursuing a second spider that was trying to flank the boy. Thranduil released Maenith and she pulled her head up sharply. Phe tried to soothe her but the horse could sense what even Phe's ears could not.

Anion dodged a swipe from a spiders leg and it missed him by a hairs breadth with its jaws. Legolas' arrow hissed by and pinned the _Ungol_ between the eyes. It skidded to a halt, sending up leaves and debris. For a minute is squirmed and twitched and then it curled up dead. Anion leapt a log in terror and nearly ran headlong into Thranduil's horse.

'_Ada!_' he cried. Thranduil's hand closed on the back of his jacket and he hauled him into the saddle.

'Where is your horse?' Thranduil demanded.

'Broken...his legs,' Anion sobbed.

Then a terrible weight descended on Phe from above, knocked her from Maenith's back and sent her sprawling onto soft leaves. She rolled, unhurt, as the spider wheeled about and opened its jaws. Until now she had been sure the fabled _Ungol_ would not intimidate her but its teeth were sharp and long and it surged at her with a frightening speed. She screamed as it lunged for her chest, mouth open, and kicked wildly. Her foot caught it between the eyes and shook it enough that it stopped to get its vision back. She threw her skirts aside and popped the sharp, curved blade on her calf from the sheath. The spider surged forward and snapped at her face. She drove the blade to the hilt under its jaw. For a moment it drooled stinking spittle into her face and she fought the urge to vomit. Then she caught sight of a long, shining sword before a pair of feet sailed over her head and followed the rolling spider to the ground. It shrieked and squirmed in the most distressing way.

Phe sat up trembling as Thranduil thrust his heel into the crook of its neck. It stopped its vile wriggling and died. Unceremoniously, he tore his sword free and flicked the blood off the blade. With the back of his hand he wiped its awful fluids off his face.

'Disgusting,' he pronounced, and bent to tug her knife free. He jumped down. Her skin was still prickling and her shoulders tense when he offered her his hand.

'How horrible-' she breathed. Thranduil offered her blade to her by the hilt and she took it carefully and lifted her gown long enough to slide it back into place. Thranduil flicked his eyes away before she could catch his stare. Phe flushed pink but made no mention of his attention.

'Legolas, get them back to the caverns,' he commanded. Phe's skin tingled in a different way when a warm, gloved hand landed in the hollow of her back. _How nice_, she thought, as the heat spread into her hips and belly and eased her cramps. _Oh, touch me **more**, my lord, if your hands can do that to me._

'I want to stay with you!' Anion keened, afraid.

'Do not stop until they are all safe,' Thranduil pulled Anion close and called his horse. 'They will be in our soup, next.'

He turned with his hand on Anions shoulder. Two great legs protruded from the funnel above him and an ugly head lunged down, mouth open. Phe made to shout a warning, but Thranduil's blade hissed free in a wide arc. It sang as it sliced the air. When the spiders head rolled to a stop, Thranduil was leaning over Anion protectively and the boy was clinging to his belly, weeping. Then the hulking body slid down and spilled into the clearing and Thranduil stepped aside briskly with the boy in one hand. Anion wrenched away from it to cling to Thranduils coat on the safer side. Tears streaked down his face.

Legolas tugged Maenith's head around and gestured.

'Come!' he urged her and Phe kicked her horse and followed him, to where her Mother and Father waited, ashen faced, on the path.

**000**

Thranduil galloped up the long paths with Anion in front of him. Anion turned his face to hide his tears in Thranduil's hair.

'Everyone is going to think me a coward!' he sobbed.

'Nonsense, they do not even know you. I will get you a spider to ride if I must, but we will see the end of your fear,' Thranduil tightened his hand around Anion's warm, firm tummy and squeezed him gently.

'It is over, my boy,' he breathed, close to Anion's ear.

'I remember-' Anion started, and for a moment Thranduil thought he might speak of the day he lost his _Ada_. But then Anion went quiet. Thranduil closed his eyes in a moment of pain. He knew what Anion remembered of his Father, and they were not moments he wished the boy to relive. The King kept a good grip on him. Even though Anion could ride very well now, he did not want to risk losing him. Even more importantly, he wanted Anion to feel safe.

'_Ada_-' whispered Anion.

Thranduil only smiled. At last, he thought. At last I am _Ada_, not just Thranduil. He smiled gently into Anions' hair.

'They are like jelly inside, not like us, no bones. You can kill them with a quick thrust of a sword to the skull, or into the cavity between head and neck. Shall I show you what to do with them for next time? You can practice on the dead ones.'

Anion looked up, frightened. Thranduil only smiled.

'I will not let them hurt you,' he promised. Then to the horse, he whispered,_ 'Run, brother. See us home safely.'_

**000**

Phe had been deep in thought, gazing out of a high window when her Mother found her. Faendis approached Phe slowly and turned her around by the shoulders. Phe had changed to a lighter gown that left her shoulders bare, and had not regretted it. She always felt far too warm when she bled and this was no exception. She sensed there was something she was about to reveal and now the time had come Phe did not want to hear it. Her heart thumped and her palms went sweaty.

'It is done,' Faendis said gently. 'We wait on your Father.'

'Who-' she whispered.

'King Thranduil, of course.'

Phe went cold. Her fingers numb, her knees suddenly soft. She sank onto the seat by the window and tried to hold back the tears, but there was no keeping back such a tide of grief. It hurt so much to have Rosdaer torn away then so quickly replaced, like his memory meant nothing. Her prince was gone and now to be replaced by a King. Phe should have been grateful but all she could feel was pain.

'It is not for love, Phe,' Faendis said softly. 'I did not marry your Father for love. Only bear Thranduil children and keep him company on formal occasions. You do not have to confide in him or share his chambers. Wear a pretty gown and be seen on his arm, that is all that is asked of you. That is all_ I_ ask of you.'

Phe just nodded, for she had no choice.

What a nightmare it would be, to live with him like she had lived with Rosdaer. In this grand hall too, rather than her cottage. Here, where responsibilities would be so important, where appearances were everything. Where shame and pride were the greatest assets and the greatest weapons available. The memory of the King's gloved hand might have been enough to make her heart flutter in a primal, lonely way. A way that had more to do with needs unfulfilled than caring, but the idea of idea of being trotted up the aisle and used like a mare for breeding made her blood run cold.

_Why must they interfere? Why can I not choose him for myself?!_

'Love comes later, for the sake of your children you grow it,' said her Mother, as if that was supposed to comfort her.

'His eyes are cold, Mother,' Phe said, in a voice thick with tears. '_He_ is cold. I cannot stand to marry him,' she was angry, so angry, and she would have gone on, but her eye was drawn to an unfamiliar sight on the floor. Gwenthel lay on the rug and then Leesha dashed from behind the laundry hamper and ran down the stairs. Pephennas glanced at her mother.

'What was that about?' Faendis asked softly.

'I do not know,' Phe picked up Gwenthel.

'He obviously desires more children,' Fae said. 'To have adopted a human girl, and a half elven boy. Clearly he is lonely.'

'Or perhaps they are just to make him look kinder.'

'Children do not smile at evil,' Fae said.

Phe turned away to hide her tears. 'Children do not _know_ evil.'

As soon as the words were out, Phe regretted them, because she doubted Thranduil had any evil in him really. Still it mattered little now because her fate was sealed. She was not sure whether to be grateful, or sad.

* * *

**_Translations_**

_Forgive me/Sorry - Goheno nin_

_My Lady - Hiril Vuin _

_My lord - Hir vuin_

_My son = Ionneg _

_My daughter = Iellig _

_ Curses! = Rhaich!_


	4. An Ill, Cold Wind

_**A/N** - Haliel bears no resemblance to the wife of Thranduil in my story 'Ghosts.' I used her name for want of a better one and now I've published it I suppose I'll have to stick with it! So...this is a brand new Haliel. Other than that..enjoy ;)_

* * *

**3 – An Ill, Cold Wind**

Finding Leesha had become Legolas' burden. She had run off some time before and despite his sharp hearing Legolas could not find her anywhere.

_She is so good at hiding I am beginning to wonder if she knows something I do not, _he thought._ How can such a young girl be so** fast?**_

He was still walking a circuit of the upper rooms calling her name when he met Pephennas coming the other way. She wore a flowing pale green gown tied together with an embroidered sash. It was a decidedly country fashion but he liked it. It stirred a distant, happy memory of his Mother, who had favoured similar colours. Phe was carrying Gwenthel in her hand and immediately Legolas sensed Leesha had been up to no good.

'My Lord!' Phe called. 'Have you seen little Leesha?'

'No, my lady. I am looking for her. She has run off.'

'She was in our rooms just a few minutes ago,' Phe informed him. 'But she ran when I saw her and left her doll.'

Legolas was about to wonder aloud why Leesha might be hiding in the guest chambers and then his sharp eyes spotted a little, curly haired dot running toward Thranduil's study far below. He pointed.

'There she is,' he smiled just like his Father. 'That girl is mischief with skin on.'

Phe laughed.

'I had better return this to her,' she said. Then she turned to Legolas as if she had something to say. 'My lord. I meant to thank you for defending us in the forest. I suppose it might seem a little silly to you that I am no warrior. I have seen a lot of women in armour here. I was never trained to fight like that. My father believes it is unbecoming a lady to know more than simple self defence.'

'You will not want to say that too loudly here,' Legolas offered her a shy smile.

Phe grinned and nodded.

'Yes, I had guessed as much. I saw your Captain of the Guard ride out this morning. Her hair was longer than Thranduil's, quite a feat. She was beautiful.'

Legolas smiled at her.

'Tauriel is a gifted warrior,' he said.

'I hope you do not think less of me.'

'No,' Legolas shook his head. 'I do not. I am sure my father thinks you brave. You have never seen an _Ungol_ before, have you?'

'No, and I will be glad to never meet one again.'

Legolas nodded lightly.

'We have plenty here, lady Phe. Perhaps you should begin training with a blade?'

'My father would have ducklings.'

Legolas snorted in laughter and quickly covered it with his hand.

'What a picture.'

She smirked shyly, and together they fell into step, slowly following the route to Leesha.

'My Lord? It is strange to adopt for elves, is it not? I am surprised that Thranduil has done so.'

Legolas licked his lips. Phe sensed he was searching for the right thing to say.

'My Mother is long dead and my Father refuses to take another wife,' he said.

Phe gazed at him in confusion until she realised he had obviously not yet been told. He went on; 'My Father likes children and he has a way with them. Family is important to him. Even if it is adopted family.'

'I understand,' Phe said. 'Our family are our closest allies.'

A nod. They drew up to the double doors to the Kings study.

Inside, Thranduil spoke in a low, soft voice; 'Where is Gwenthel, have you lost her again?'

An aide opened the door to admit them. Thranduil's study was a large room overlooking the woods. There was an old, beautiful table and a set of chairs. Beyond them a big, bay window with seats that looked well used. Thranduil was sitting with Lord Caduven. There was drink in their crystal glasses and a bottle half empty on the table. Phe spied some maps and figures on paper between them. Leesha had climbed into Thranduil's lap and disturbed their work.

'_Hir vuin,_ forgive me, I think she has lost this. It was in our room,' Phe held the doll up.

'_Goheno nin_,' Thranduil apologised, 'She has not learned which rooms belong the family yet. Did she disturb you?'

'No, _hir vuin_,' Phe said quickly. The ghost of tears still hung around her eyes and gazing on the King, Phe found herself feeling defeated. Was it possible that her Father was just proposing the match now? Had Leesha disturbed them? Phe was about to smile and say that it was no trouble when her Father turned to look at her in such a pointed way that it was clear she had disturbed him in the middle of something very important. Before she could bow her head and make a hasty retreat, Thranduil set Leesha down on the floor.

'Go on,' Thranduil prompted her and she padded up to Pephennas, who handed Gwenthel back to her.

The little girl smiled and hugged her doll. She scampered back to Thranduil.

'Hey!' he caught her by the hand before she could hide behind his chair and pointed to Phe. 'You have forgotten your manners. Thank the Lady Pephennas for returning Gwenthel.'

So Leesha turned with a shy little smile on her face, dropped a cute little curtsey and said; 'Thank you, your highness,' in Sindarin with a thick accent. Thranduil bit back a laugh. He caught Leesha around her tummy and gave her a little reassuring squeeze. The girl smiled and put her curly soft head against his jaw. She smelled like the oil he had given her for her baths and she was warm and small in his hands. Thranduil felt love for her rise inside him and wanted very much to leave Caduven to his plots and calculations and take his new daughter to do something more fun, but it was not to be.

'That is very good, Leesha, but Lady Phe is not a Queen, and you have become a lady yourself. So you must call her Lady Phe, or _hiril vuin_. Yes? Go to Legolas. There, look,' Thranduil pointed to the steps, where Legolas gestured. 'He is waiting for you. So is Anion. Tell him he is to play a game of your choice with you.'

Phe bowed her head and retreated with a soft, 'My King.'

Phe was sure she could feel the Kings eyes on her back, but they were not nearly so heavy as her Father's.

**000**

That afternoon Leesha ran off all her energy and she came to Legolas for an unexpected cuddle. Before he knew it she had fallen asleep on his lap and trapped him upon a bench. Legolas gazed miserably in the direction of the trees, wishing he could be in the woods with Tauriel. Thranduil found him there. Legolas sensed his Father was in an ill mood but when he saw his son so afflicted, he smiled. Thranduil regretted not giving him a brother or sister of his own age. Legolas was spoiled, no doubt. Though he had grown into a fine young man in name and form, he had things to learn about family life that Thranduil feared it would take a family of his own to teach him. One of them was patience.

_Now if I can just get him suitably married it will be one less trouble_.

_'Ada_? What has happened?' Legolas sensed the kings displeasure.

Thranduil gazed down at Leesha and finding her fast asleep he whispered intensely; 'He is after the Summer Isles. I knew it, the crawling _louse_!'

'He has offered you Pephennas then?' Legolas guessed Caduven's intent. Thranduil was proud of him for that.

'He seems to lack the courage,' Thranduil bent down to scoop Leesha up gently and cupped her head to his shoulder. Thranduil hissed softly, furiously; 'It is only a matter of time. The _deceiver_. He thinks that when the Power rises he can retreat to the Summer Isles and lay, protected by water, while the fire burns us all away!'

Leesha stirred and grumbled and Thranduil shushed her warmly and stroked her hair until she settled.

'What will you do?' asked Legolas softly.

Thranduil gazed at him over Leesha's head. His Winter eyes were full of sadness and pain. Legolas thought he wore the expression of the broken hearted. To imply that he would want to trade some of their most productive land for a widow woman he did not know or love had certainly insulted Thranduil's sense of taste, but worse was the implication that Caduven would forsake all honour to his kin and flee to safety when the Darkness came over Middle Earth again.

'You are going to refuse her,' Legolas said, knowingly.

'He is presumptuous and arrogant, and I do not _want_ another wife. Not even she.'

Legolas nodded.

'And Pephennas? What of her reputation? People would wonder why.'

'She is not my concern.'

Thranduil turned away, then as a parting shot he breathed; 'I would not let a stranger be mother to my children. He has much to learn about how this Kingdom is run.'

Legolas watched him walk away. He was too old to accept a new Mother anyway, but Thranduil's comment made him feel protected and safe and reassured that little was likely to change.

Thranduil headed for the family rooms where Anion was taking a nap on his bed. Thranduil laid Leesha down next to him and covered her with a soft, patchwork blanket. He was about to leave when she opened her eyes and mumbled something. He stroked her head softly.

'Ssssh,' he soothed her.

'Lady Penenas says your eyes is cold,' she murmured in the common tongue, 'She don't want to marry you.'

Thranduil looked at her quizzically but she was already asleep. He crept outside and shut the door. Disguised by the shadows of a great root, Thranduil gazed down the long steps to the guest quarters. A creeping sense of dread crawled up his back. It was hard to keep secrets here and he had the feeling this one was already out.

_Cold?_ _How does she know anything about my eyes? So the girl does not like the arrangement. Neither do I. Which is why she will not be subjected to me and I will not be responsible for her fate. It matters not. Lovely as she is, I do not want her. _

**000**

Before dinner, Thranduil was standing alone in his chambers. The door opened softly and alerted him to a presence. He was just placing his crown back on his head when his oldest daughter stepped up behind him with a broad smile on her face. Thranduil had chosen a pale blue overcoat and it brought out his eyes. Olerydes privately thought he looked very handsome in it.

'Never can I get this thing to sit right. It must be my brain grows bigger,' he teased her.

'You shouldn't brag, _Ada_,' Olerydes smirked. She took the crown from his fingers and he obligingly bent down so that she could seat it on his head and rearrange his hair. 'It may only be your skull gets thicker.'

Thranduil laughed.

'It is likely hereditary.'

'I hope not,' Olerydes smiled at him. Then she let out a slow breath through her nose. How she reminded Thranduil of her mother when she did that. It was her signal that she was deep in thought, but there was also a hint of something else there. Then Thranduil spied the gem at her throat. _That must be a gift from Ronir, _he thought,_ this almost-fiance who is too afraid to come and see me._

Olerydes' smile grew wan.

'I miss her so,' she said softly. 'She should be here, for you. For us.'

'As do I,' Thranduil nodded. 'Even now it is as if she will come walking around the corner. Sometimes I forget myself and think to call her name.'

'When I wake,' she said softly, 'I sometimes think I hear her walking about. Then I remember she is dead and I cry again. Will it ever end, _Ada_? Does the pain go on forever?'

Thranduil sighed softly. His own heart ached at her memory. It had been so many years but still he felt her loss as keenly as ever. Nothing could fill that void, nor ease his loneliness.

'I remember Oropher's death,' he said. 'My heart is still aching for him. Time will dull the pain but nothing will ever take away your sadness. _Ada_ would have liked your character, and taught you to play games as he did with me.'

'_You_ taught me those things,' Olerydes smiled at him. His heart went warm.

_If I have nothing else, Iellig, I will have your devotion. And you will have mine. Forever.  
_

Thranduil was proud of her, so proud it nearly hurt, because she had grown into a fine woman. And if Ronir plucked the courage soon, he knew she would be a good wife and Mother too. The thought of becoming a Grandfather filled him with delight and he privately prayed she would be married soon.

'Because your Grandfather was not there to do it himself,' Thranduil smiled. 'I believe I am getting old, Olerydes. I _feel_ it.'

Olerydes laughed. 'You are not _that_ old!'

Thranduil just smiled. Then he touched the gem at her throat with warm fingertips.

'Is this one new? I do not recall it.'

Olerydes was not a good liar. Her face changed and some deep, troubled feeling clouded her expression. She dropped her gaze. Thranduil found himself smiling, a little lift about the corners of his mouth that suggested he knew the girls secret long before she told it.

'I think Ronir wants to ask you for my hand,' she said.

Thranduil smiled with the lazy satisfaction of a Father who had just been proven right.

'I knew it. You see? I told you it was just a matter of patience. Tell him to come and see me and I will frighten him, bless him and then hand him my daughter. Do not tell him that I am not so fierce. He is supposed to be afraid, that is the fun for _me_. Go, find your sister, she will be in her chambers fretting about her hair. Tell her I am sure she is beautiful, and do not be late for dinner this time.'

Thranduil watched her leave with a smile. One daughter soon to be wed and another so interested in boys that it was only a matter of time before she found herself a husband. Soon his girls would fly and the nest would be empty but for Leesha and Anion.

_An old elf I am, with an aching heart,_ he thought. _How I miss you. How I wish I could hold you just once, speak to you, love you again_. He had intended to serve his days as King and then before age could slow him down, hand his crown to Legolas and whatever suitable bride the boy finally chose and retire to the Summer Isles with his one true love. There he would be simply Thranduil. He would take his books and his lyre and pretend to be entirely average. He would rise when he pleased and eat when he pleased and make love to his wife as often as he could. The life of the honored old King did not suit him. Thranduil did not want to live out his days as adviser to his son, who would make all the same mistakes he had regardless of what his _Ada_ said.

Now Thranduil would retire alone and sleep beside a grapevine. He felt lonely and afraid without her and as time passed, he found himself more and more in need of more than the comfort of her memory. His very skin ached for loving touch, more than his children or a mere friend could provide. The dead could not do much for the living. At times he was sure he felt her around, watching, waiting, as if she knew something he did not. Thranduil was beginning to feel the chill creep into his bed at night and the sorrow settle too deep in his heart. His youthful lightness had gone from him in the wake her death. His body felt heavier, his thoughts darker and his neck ached with the weight of the crown.

**000**

Thranduil had been trained so long to be needed that sleeping seemed like a waste of his time. Three or fours hours was normally as much as he could manage. This night had not been an easy one. Leesha had begun to suffer nightmares. It was still dark and the stars glimmering brightly overhead when he found himself inexplicably awake. A feeling in his heart lead him to her room where she tossed and turned and then opened her eyes with a cry in the darkness. She found Thranduil stroking her hair.

'What did you dream, _Iellig_?' he whispered. She put trembling hands on his forearm. 'You can tell me, I will not tell anyone. I will keep all your bad dreams in a little box where they cannot hurt you.'

And she told him, in a sweet, soft little voice that she had seen bad people and her Mummy. Then she began to tremble and would not talk anymore about the red light or the noises that she said were like pigs. Thranduil gathered her, with her blanket, into his arms. She searched the dark corners of the room but she soon stopped trembling and hugged him so sweetly that he wanted to hold her forever and never let her go.

'Daddy, there's a monster with legs,' she finally whispered. Thranduil stroked her head calmly.

'_Ada_,' he taught her the word. '_A-da_.'

She repeated it softly.

'There are no monsters, my sweetling. Just you and me. And Anion is right next door, so if you get scared you can go and wake him up like this,' he shook her shoulder gently, 'and he will come and find me, yes? Shall I bring you a light?'

Leesha clearly wanted one but she did not want him to leave. She hung onto his hand and even began to cry when he tried, so he gave up and lay in her cot beside her. He stroked her hair rhythmically until her breathing became soft and even. Until he was sure she was asleep. He watched the dark beyond the window, watched the glittering stars. Then when Leesha had been silent for an hour or so he gently disentangled himself and crept out of the room.

The next day Leesha did not want to be alone. Thranduil began to understand how difficult her life had been so far. She was keen to clean shoes. This was a trait he was not delighted to see. He wondered if that had been her job. He knew that children were sent to work much earlier than they should be in the free towns and he did not like the idea that Leesha had been one of them. When he took her hands off his boots and asked her what she was doing, she just said 'shiny.'

After that he made sure all shoes were kept out of her way.

Anion came to find her before lunch time. The master had insisted Anion spend some time with his new sister. Thranduil was given to agree that the boy was becoming resentful of all the time Thranduil spent with her. So Thranduil explained to Anion that she would not be so needy forever. Actually it was good to make friends with her and before long she would have hobbies and friends and then everything would return to normal. Anion seemed satisfied enough with that and looked forward to the day when Thranduil was more interested in going riding with him than playing dolls in his study.

Soon after, Thranduil managed to push a doll into his hands and left them together in his study. Outside he found Legolas sitting on one of the high boughs, sharpening his blade and looking glum. Creeping up behind him, Thranduil folded his arms and said;_ 'Your wear a face like a horses back end.'_ Legolas jumped and stared up at his Father, then he chuckled.

'It is nothing,' he sighed. Then before Thranduil could get a word in, he burst. 'I am having to watch Olerydes like a hawk, _Ada_...that man she has been seeing is too bold. He is pushy with her, I do not like it.'

'In what way?'

'I saw them quarreling this morning. He put his hands on her and she shoved him off. He would not stop himself. His behaviour is a concern to me. He is willful at work and twice insubordinate.'

Thranduil frowned.

'That will not do. I will see to him. What is it, Legolas? What is wrong with you?'

Thranduil leaned down and smiled in the way he always had when Legolas was a child.

'Are you angry?' Thranduil asked, as if he had only just noticed.

Then Legolas huffed out a tight breath and met his Father's eyes.

'Is it true?'

'What are you talking about?' Thranduil's smile faded into concern.

'Is it true? The house is buzzing. You agreed to take Pephennas.'

Thranduil stared at him aghast. Then his good humour vanished and he frowned.

'I said nothing. Where has this come from, this is a lie!'

'It is everywhere,' Legolas said. 'Even the guards speak of it.'

Thranduil went white with fury.

'_Rhaich!_ Am I to be damned the whole time they are here?!'

Legolas stood briskly and met his Father's eyes.

'_Ada_...it is a deliberate slander. I _know_ it.'

Thranduil's mouth twisted into a grimace. 'They seek to force my hand with a rumor, or shame us both if I refuse her. _Swine_. Legolas. Go and find Ronir and tell him I expect to see him this afternoon. We will get to the bottom of his conduct and then, I will take my pleasure from Lord Caduven's disappointment.'

Legolas nodded his assent and his Father swirled away, angry.

**000**

The King passed an alcove between two statues where he had once taken Haliel to steal her kisses where his Father would not find them. A corner of Olerydes gown was visible there in the shadows and he could hear their heated whispers.

_Valar preserve my patience, _he thought._ What a fortuitous find. The little **shit**_ _is in there with my girl. _

'No, Ronir!' Olerydes breathed. 'I have told you, not yet-'

'_Before_ you said 'yes'!'

'I was a fool to say 'yes'. Can you not wait a bit longer-'

'No!' he breathed.

Then Olerydes fled the alcove and ran headlong into her Father. Ronir lunged after her, but Thranduil seized them both, Olerydes by her forearm and Ronir by his collar. He was furious enough with Lord Caduven without adding a potential rape to the list of transgressions he had witnessed today.

'What has he done to you?' Thranduil heard himself say, his voice raw and angry in a rare way.

Ronir tried to flee but the Kings fingers were as strong as pincers and just as cold. Olerydes lost all her courage in the face of his wrath. For a second, both were silent and then she broke and sobbed;

'He put his hands on me and would not let me go! _Ada_!' she pulled the shoulder of her deep blue gown down and there were red crescent marks in her skin, from fingernails. Thranduil's eyes searched the wound and fear and fury rose in equal measure to colour his voice and twist his expression.

'_Why did you not tell me!'_ he yelled. Olerydes shook her head mutely and swallowed hard around her tears.

Thranduil forced Ronir's hand open. Ronir resisted but the King won by strength alone and he placed the boys fingers one by one upon the marks. They fitted. Thranduil's teeth were as white as the gems he favoured. Ronir quailed. The King's face had suddenly drained of all colour and his eyes had lost their lustre and humour. He looked less like the man who would have been his Father by law and more like the King.

'Go to your sister,' Thranduil commanded Olerydes. 'I will come to you when I have dealt with _him_.'

'_Ada_-' she tried to quell his anger, but Thranduil turned on her.

'**Go!**' he shouted. She fled and only when her footfalls had faded did Thranduil turn to the boy.

Thranduil thrust Ronir into a cell himself and slammed the door with a hidden strength. He gripped the bars with hands white as snow, so hard that his knuckle bones showed. He leaned in, teeth bared.

'You may beg for mercy but you will not receive it. If I find you have touched her innocence the dawn will see you dead. Pray she begs me for your life.'

Thranduil climbed the hidden steps, which had been built for the King only. When he reached Olerydes' room he was breathing harder. Lilia comforted him at the door with a few quick, soft words and her calming hands around his. Thranduil moved her gently aside to get a good look at Olerydes, who had sunk into her pillows and was weeping quietly.

'_Ada_!' Lilia tried to pause him, but Thranduil ignored her. He sat beside his eldest daughter and laid a hand upon back. She curled up tighter, as if to say that her shame was greater than her need for his reassurance.

'Did she tell you what he has done?' Thranduil turned to his youngest, seeking information. Lilia nodded and gracefully she bent to whisper in his ear.

Thranduil's fingers tightened and Olerydes sobbed for fear of what he might say and do. She was frightened of his anger but more afraid to face the consequences of her actions.

'What have you done?' he whispered to her, and Lilia grabbed his shoulder to hold him back.

'No, _Ada_!'

'I will not punish her!' he snapped at Lilia. 'Not while she carries a child. I am no idiot.'

He plucked her hand off his arm and cast her an expression that Lilia read accurately. _Do not try that again._

Lilia went to hold her sisters hand. Thranduil was sure his knees had gone weak. He was glad he was seated. How would he explain this to prying eyes and ears who already gossiped about his reign? How would he dissuade the rest of his children from the same recklessness?

'You _fool._ After everything I taught you. After all this time you cannot wait one _year_ for marriage!'

Olerydes' shout startled him, and Thranduil found himself face to face with his daughter, more angry than he had ever seen her. She spat the words in his face like her Mother might have when she was pushed to anger.

'He_ raped_ me! How could I come to you and tell you I have been so _stupid_ to let him into my chambers!'

Some time later, Olerydes was persuaded to put a shawl around her shoulders and sit up in bed to talk to her Father, who was as ashen faced as a corpse and just as silent. She complained still of being cold, but Lilia knew it was not the Autumn wind that had done it. It was the shock. The atmosphere was so heavy and Lilia feared her Father's reaction, but not more than Olerydes, who seemed to be expecting the very worst from him and would barely meet his eyes.

'She missed her blood,' Lilia finally whispered.

'You have _lied_ for her!' he hissed. 'To me. To your own Father!'

'She swore me to secrecy!' Lilia yelled back.

'Secrecy,' he scoffed. 'I have never heard such _rubbish_. We might still save this situation.'

Lilia threw down the handkerchief she had been holding and stared at her _Ada_ in shock. Some said he was disobedient to the traditions, and so far she had seen the logic in every decision he had made for their family. Thranduil was not so closed minded as Oropher and he had always been willing to accept the modern, at least up to a point. This, however, was beyond abhorrent to her.

'That is _disgusting_!' Lilia exclaimed. 'How can you even _say_ it in front of her!'

'What of her child?' he asked. 'Is this fair?'

Olerydes started crying again, and they both fell quiet.

'Olerydes?' Lilia bent low, trying to smile. 'Love...it will be alright. I am sure of it. _Ada_? It will.'

'I cannot say,' Thranduil stood to gaze out of the window. The cool air caressed his face and stirred his hair. 'This is a situation I have managed to avoid so far.'

Lilia stared at his back. 'Oh, but you have tried, _Ada_.'

Thranduil turned, annoyed. 'Is that how you speak to your Father?'

Lilia's anger showed around her eyes. She narrowed them, and Thranduil was struck by how like Haliel she looked when she did that. Suddenly he realized this anger had been festering inside her for a while.

_What else have I missed in your life?_ He thought, uncomfortably.

'You instruct us to keep ourselves innocent but_ you_ take women into your bed as concubines! What if one of them should bear you a child!'

Thranduil glared at Lilia. 'Then put me over your knee and punish me for my misbehaviour. _If_ you are big enough.'

Lilia swapped to an old elvish phrase. '_You behave like a spoiled child_!'

Thranduil bared his teeth. 'I am_ King_,' he breathed, 'I can do as I like!'

Lilia pushed the damp wash cloth she had used on her sisters neck into his hands angrily.

'It is _only_ a baby. It is _not _the end of her life,' she said, and walked out of the room. Thranduil's mouth opened and then closed and then he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples and thought; _making war is far easier than these daughters. If only you were here my love, you could talk some sense into them. _

Thranduil threw himself onto the chaise and rubbed his face. He uttered a couple of well chosen curses that made Olerydes flush with surprise. All the strength was gone from his bones. He felt drained. He was thinking, his face absent, when Olerydes knelt at his feet and put both her hands on his knee. The fabric was soft and fine, patterned with thin green lines. He smelled so familiar. It was both comforting and frightening.

'_Goheno nin, Ada_-' the girl choked, peering into his face, fearing further reproach.

Thranduil leaned back into the cushions with less of the bearing of a King.

'You are a fool,' he said softly. 'I should have taught you better. Set a better example.'

'It was not your fault,' Olerydes said softly.

Thranduil's gaze was penetrating.

'Did you consent, _Iellig_?'

'I swear I did tell him 'no,' _Ada_. But the first time...I consented. He said it was not right to refuse him after. I thought that was true...he became more and more insistent. I did not want to lose him.'

Thranduil put a finger under her hand and plucked it off his knee. For a moment Olerydes thought he might cast her touch aside but then he enfolded her hand in his. Her skin was warm and she felt so familiar, so reassuring. She found herself breathing easier. Hardly forgiven, but at least he had stopped shouting at her.

'I will kill him,' he said softly.

Olerydes opened her mouth to beg Thranduil to reconsider. He cut across her;

'Your reputation as a maiden is quite ruined, but few would fault you for rape,' he said it like it was an ugly word. 'They will fault me instead and I would sooner they did. You will marry,' he went on. 'To a man I choose. And if you want to indulge dangerous liaisons again, let your husband be the judge of it.'

Olerydes might have spoken but her throat filled up with tears. More than the threat of an arranged marriage was the crushing pain of her Father's disappointment. Would he wash his hands of her so easily? She said nothing because nothing was all she could say.

'Times are changing,' he sat forward and made to rise. 'But not fast enough for you, _Iellig_.'

Thranduil kissed her temple and was gone, his cloak breathing a silky sibilant on the floor.

**000**

Olerydes used the darkness like a cloak. She found the spare keys in her father's desk and she crept downstairs to turn the lock to Ronir's cell. Ronir stirred from where he was laying to stare at her.

'Olerydes. I did not mean to. I could not help it-'

'Run,' she said softly. '_Ada_ will kill you if you stay. He said so himself. So, run.'

'Olerydes, I-'

Olerydes lied as easily as her Father.

'Two more maids have came forth to name you their rapist. It seems you hunt a wider arc that I am able to provide alone. Run. Here is your sword,' she threw it at him.

A moment later he emerged carefully, his face white.

'That is more mercy than you can expect from my Father if he catches you. Use the south passage and take the boat moored downriver. I would not come back.'

'Olerydes-' he grabbed her hand, and for a moment she wanted to stop and take him into her arms and kiss him.

'I have your child inside me,' she whispered.

'We could get married-' he suggested, though his face was full of fear.

Olerydes looked him in the eyes. Her head screamed one thing while her heart cried another.

_I loved you once, before you set me on this course and now it is I who cannot turn back, not you. I cannot believe it took me so long to see how selfish you really are. Do I even love you?_

'I do not want to marry you,' she whispered. 'Go. Before I scream for help.'

**000**

Phe had noticed her Father's pallor and general lack of communication, but she had made no comment because none would be welcome. When she was told to dress herself and follow her family she did so without question and now she found herself standing at the foot of the throne with the sense that something was wrong. Lord Caduven was unusually pale. The King had donned his crown. She could feel her heartbeat in her throat and she could hardly bear to look at Thranduil. _Tonight, I might be seeing him in private_, she thought. _And I would rather not think of that now.  
_

Her Father spoke first with an extravagant bow.

'I am honored to hear of your decision, my King!'

Something told Phe to look at Thranduil. His eyes burned like cold flame and his skin was unusually pale, his lips gone thin. Right away she wondered if her Father had angered him in some way. Thranduil rose and descended like a blue star to address them. His staff clicked on the wood as he went, piercing the absolute silence and marking his steps, which were tortuously slow when so much was at stake.

'What have you heard?' he said. 'I have heard a few rumours too, but they are only that. Rumours. Come, my Lord, tell me what has honoured you so?'

Phe looked to her Father in surprise. Caduven stumbled over his words.

'Forgive me, sire...has there been no acceptance?'

'I do not recall having such a discussion! Did we? Did we speak of marriage?'

Phe's breath came shorter and her hands went cool and damp. So there_ had_ been an offense done!

'N-No, sire,' Caduven said quickly. 'But I thought - we heard that-'

Thranduil silenced him with a wave of his hand. 'You presume much, Caduven Lord of Plains,' he made the title sound derisive. 'I did not ask for a wife, and I will not take one. Where this rumour has come from I cannot say but it did not start with me.'

Phe stared at the floor. She felt vulnerable and ashamed under the scrutiny of the dozen or so royal faces who had come to watch the Kings revenge, not least his children. She could not decide whether she wanted to weep or not. Her Mother laid her hands on her shoulders silently. Disappointment warred with gratitude in her heart and then dulled to sadness. His refusal hurt. She could feel the gazes of the court, poking at what little honour she still had. She knew they would laugh at her for her naivete later. Suddenly she was ashamed to have thought of Thranduil at all.

Thranduil's shout startled all of them. Even Legolas looked up.

'Get thee hence! You have worn out your welcome, Lord Caduven.'

Then Thranduil smiled but it was cold and crisp.

'You will _never_ have the Summer Isles, my lord. They are _mine_ and I will hold them until the end of my days. Now _get out_,' he waved an elegant hand and guards stepped forward to evict them.

Caduven was white and his wife did not dare to speak. Phe evaded the guards and before they could catch her she threw herself down and knelt at Thranduil's feet. She heard the King draw a sharp breath but she did not dare look up to find out if he was angry or pleased.

'Pephennas!' Fae breathed, trying to push her way forward but Thranduil waved to the guards to stop, just for a moment.

_Oh my lady, how small you look. Like a child._

'My lord, my Father meant no offense!'

Phe worked up the courage to look up. The King's eyes burned but she saw less of the anger from before in his face as he bent to offer her a hand.

'No, _hiril vuin_,' he said. '_YOU_ mean me no offense.'

Phe took his hand and Thranduil helped her to her feet without a word. She gazed into his beautiful face, her eyes full of tears of regret and whispered;

'Am _I_ the cause, my lord?'

'No, you are not. I would have saved you this embarrassment, if I could. I do not know where this rumour began but I will chase it, my lady,' he glanced at Lord Caduven.

'_Goheno nin_,' she whispered and she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. Thranduil stepped a bit closer. Phe found his skin as soft as silk. She could smell some sort of perfume and it woke her desire again. _Oh my lord, why did you have to say no to me?_

He could feel her warmth and it made him want to touch her, hear her gasp for him. Thranduil glanced at her Father. Caduven was seething but too afraid to stop the King from putting a gentle hand on the base of her back.

'Your lips are as warm as your heart,' he murmured, delighted to feel how soft her skin was against his cheek. Phe's skin tingled near her ear, where his breath brushed her. Suddenly she wanted to kiss him.

'I would have been honoured to be your bride,' she whispered, the heat in her voice went straight to Thranduil's trousers and tightened them. She went on and only inflamed that desire further; 'Though...I am hardly ready to marry again. _Forgive_ him, I _beg_ you!'

_How long has it been since you had a man between your legs? Would you gasp for me, would you deny your desire and make me chase it, make me draw it from your body until you wrap yourself around me in surrender? Or would you kiss me like **she** used to, put your tongue in my mouth and show me how much you want me? _He almost shuddered, and drew away from the girl.

'My lord!' he called, now smiling. 'Since you seek land, land will be given to you. The Wastes north of the Great Tree are yours to do with as you will and you will bow and thank me and then leave, or I will take more than your gratitude and give what you have given me. Trickery. And deceit.'

Pephennas knew what she had done. She looked into the Kings eyes and saw the laughter inside them. She bowed quickly and fled, before she could displease either King or Father further. Caduven did bow, his thick black brows knitted together and his hands unsteady. He did thank Thranduil and he did leave, and when he was far above, while their things were being packed by aides, he sat motionless and furious by the window.

The Wastes. A toxic place where no food could grow. The hundred leagues would be more of a curse than a blessing. It was space that Thranduil could do without protecting and since it had been a gift, it would now fall to Caduven to spare the men to patrol what few settlements existed there. Orcs would surely seek to use it for their foul practices. Now Caduven was burdened, not blessed.

When Phe walked in carrying a pot of hot water, Caduven rose like a thunderclap and struck her across the face. She stumbled back into a tapestry and caught herself barely on the back of a chair. She stood trembling in shock while he cried; 'What have you done! _What did you say to offend him!?_'

Pephennas felt tears and anger rising together. She held the bruised that was blossoming on her face and choked back;

'I said nothing! I did _nothing_-'

He struck her again, this time the other way. Phe's heart broke, in part because of his anger and in part because of Thranduil's refusal. How hard she had tried to impress the King. How close she had come to loving him. Caduven raised his hand again.

The hot water hissed as it hit his skin and he was still screaming when she ran from the room and flew down the steps. Behind her, she was sure she heard his footfalls. Then there was a sudden shove and the floor disappeared. She fancied she had tripped over her gown and the memory of the shove was quickly submerged and forgotten as if it was too painful to confess. She twisted, screaming, and plunged to the ground with a shriek.

A moment later, Leesha emerged from Thranduil's study. She stopped dead when she saw the tangled body on the ground and screamed. She stayed there in that way until guards emerged from every corner. Legolas poked his head out of his chambers. Then Olerydes came out and finally Lilia, who had been sulking in her room all afternoon. Legolas went sprinting down the stairs and when he reached the bottom he bent over Pephennas.

Thranduil came to see what the noise was about and found Leesha still screaming. When he saw what she was staring at, he swept her off the ground and covered her eyes with his hand. He handed her swiftly to a guard and ordered her taken upstairs to Lilia and Olerydes. He gazed up at the walkways, suspiciously, but there was no one in sight.

Pephennas was spread and tangled on the ground, her legs hooked one over the other and her face slack. Blood leaked onto her dress and she stared up blankly.

'Get back,' Legolas' voice parted the crowd like fish before a shark. To his surprise he saw her breathing shallowly. A pulse jumped in her throat.

'Fetch a healer!' he commanded. 'She breathes still! She may yet live.'

Legolas caught his Father's eyes. Neither one said what they suspected. Neither could really afford to be wrong. Inquiries would be made for a witness. Until then. Legolas fumed but he said nothing. An idiot could work out what had really happened here. When the healer arrived he pushed his way through the growing crowd to where the prince bent over Phe and said;

'A flat board to lay her on, and fabric to tie her down. Now, or she will lose her legs and maybe more, when we move her.'

**000**

Olerydes hid in her room until Legolas came to fetch her.

'Come,' he gestured to the door. _'Ada_ is angry, Olerydes.'

He made to open the door but then he turned to search her eyes.

'Why did you do it? Ronir deserved his punishment. He has been found guilty!'

Olerydes gazed into his face. He looked so much like their Father.

'I still love him,' she whispered. 'But I do not love what he has done. Legolas,' she caught his hand. 'Have I done wrong? I told him of maids...I-'

Legolas turned to face her fully and his pale eyes narrowed. He began to smile, more like the brother he had been as a child and less like the Prince.

'Tell me more? What did you do?' he asked her in a voice eerily reminiscent of the one he might have used when they were children, cooking up mischief together. Olerydes tried to hide her smile and failed.

'I told him that maids have accused him of rape,' she admitted.

Legolas tried to keep a straight face but then he laughed.

'You made him run, in fear of _Ada_,' he was grinning. 'I did not know you could be so vengeful!'

Olerydes shrugged.

'It will be worth my punishment,' she said. 'One day he will come back. By then...perhaps_ Ada_ will have forgiven him. It was...not _entirely_ rape, brother. Not _some_ of the times anyway.'

'Yes, we had figured that much out,' he nodded. 'You should have been more careful. As I am.'

'Legolas, most of your lovers are not women,' she said.

He blushed slightly. Then he shrugged.

'Some are,' he sounded a little defensive.

'I think...Ronir became ill. Do you remember when he banged his head on patrol? He changed, he became more violent, rougher.'

'Yes,' Legolas nodded. He thought about that for a moment and wondered if the source of Ronir's troubles at work had been a head injury. He would have to speak to Thranduil about that.

Olerydes was taken downstairs to face her Father. When she told him, haltingly of what she had done, Thranduil hid what must have been a smirk behind his hand. Throwing out Lord Caduven had improved his mood somewhat, and saved him a lengthy visitation and descent into vegetarianism. Indeed his first meal on their leaving had been a roast chicken. He felt full and content. He could still taste the grease on his palate and it delighted him. Roast chicken reminded him so of his own Mother, who had always enjoyed picking the carcass clean with her fingers. She would have chewed the knuckles too, but Thranduil considered himself a little bit above that.

Legolas kept his head down lest their Father notice his amusement. Thranduil handed the sword that he had been waiting to use on Ronir to an aide and rose. He flowed down the steps and stood before his eldest daughter.

'It seems my daughter has approved her own punishment. I will find an adequate forfeit for you to perform.'

Thranduil turned to look at Legolas.

'And you!' he said loudly. 'Wipe that smile off your face this instant. Did you have a part in this too?'

'No!' Olerydes said quickly. 'Legolas did nothing. It was my doing.'

Thranduil made a sound like a snort.

'I hope Ronir runs as quickly as he works!' the King said as he swept past her, but Olerydes felt there was little real malice in him now. _Perhaps he will calm down in time._ Thranduil left the room, and the atmosphere lightened.

* * *

**_Translations_**

_Forgive me/Sorry - Goheno nin_

_My Lady - Hiril Vuin _

_My lord - Hir vuin_

_My son = Ionneg _

_My daughter = Iellig _

_ Curses! = Rhaich!_


	5. The Toll of Lies

**4 – The Toll of Lies**

A blinding, crisp Autumn came to the Greenwood and turned the leaves to copper. Thranduil was just finishing his breakfast when Leesha wandered in half asleep to tug on his overcoat. He picked her up and sat her on his lap. She was warm and sleepy and she leaned on his chest adorably. Thranduil reached around her for his cup. He gave her a warm, sweet cuddle.

'What did you see in your sleep, _Iellig_?'

She thought about it for a moment. Then she began playing with his hair and said; 'I'm sleepy.'

'No dreams?' he asked, as he put a small, round sweet fruit between his teeth.

Again Leesha shook her head. She crawled a finger-spider up his belly.

'_Ada_. Monster again. Under my bed.'

Thranduil handed Leesha over to the master for her breakfast and lessons and went up to her bedroom to poke around until he was satisfied that she had only seen a bad dream. As he turned to leave his boot caught on something. Gwenthel. Thranduil noticed how tatty she had become. One of her button eyes was missing and her arm was nearly severed by how Leesha trailed her around. He saw nothing amiss here but he could not shake the sense that something was wrong. As he turned to leave a strange urge made him glance into the corner behind her bed. Hiding in the deep shadow was the telltale arch of a spiders leg. His skin flushed cold with dread. Creeping closer he saw the movements of its feeler arms as it cleaned its face. He wanted to be sick.

It was a baby _Ungol_, no bigger than a cat. A terrible chill raced up his spine to think that Leesha had slept in here with this monster.

Thranduil reached slowly for his dagger. As his fingers closed around the hilt a moment of inspiration struck him. Before he could make the last strike the spider would ever see, Thranduil changed course for the bed and gathered up Leesha's patchwork blanket instead.

_Do not think on it to deeply,_ he told himself. _Just try it. After all, if Anion will not take to the beast it is no trouble to drown it._

He threw the blanket. When the Ungol tried for a quick escape, he stamped down on either side of it and grabbed it in his hands. He gathered it up tightly and carried it downstairs. He found Tauriel on the lower levels with two recruits who looked terrified to see the King striding towards them.

'Tauriel!' His voice echoed. 'This young _Ungol_ was in Leesha's chambers.'

'Her chambers!' Tauriel exclaimed. 'How? I...? My lord! If they are in the caverns we must-'

He turned to the recruits. 'Begone,' he commanded them. 'Send me Legolas.'

When they were alone, the King reached for Tauriel.

'My lord, I do not know how this has happened-' she stopped when he gathered her shirt into his hand and pulled her very close. She could smell his favourite oil and the scent of his skin. His hand was warm and he was not so rough as he might have been were she a man, but still Tauriel felt his strength. She sensed that she was no longer addressing the King, but a Father on the edge of fury for the safety of his children. The blanket wriggled and hissed. Tauriel knew what was in it without needing to look.

'I have trusted you with our lives. I have protected and nurtured you. If your Mother did not live, girl, I would have called you my own daughter! If you do not take care of this infestation I will send you back where you came from. Protect my children or you will have no place amongst us.'

Tauriel nodded. She was too shocked to speak and too ashamed of her own failure to find an excuse. She had been charged with keeping the caverns clear. It was a simple enough goal. The thought of losing her home, Legolas and everything she had come to hold dear rose like acid up her throat and made her want to be sick. She had no words for the King and none for her Mother should she be sent home in disgrace.

'If I bury even one elf to these monsters I will make sure everyone in Sindaroth knows _why_,' he released her slowly and set her back on her feet in a way that was almost gentlemanly. She bowed low and remained that way in apology until he took a step back to signal he was satisfied. When she looked up she found his freezing eyes lacked feeling. Tauriel shivered, suddenly cold.

'Yes, my lord,' she said.

'Get out.'

He did not turn until her footsteps had faded. Then he watched the spot where she had been standing, at war with himself.

_Who can I trust if not you and Legolas?_ Thranduil gripped the _Ungol_ with white hands. _Must I put Leesha and Anion both in a cot in my chambers? If I have to stay up all night to watch you, I shall, but I fear I would not last more than a few nights, and Ungol are patient creatures_.

His panic was like a wild beast racing around his head in terror. If he had not been holding the _Ungol_ he might have smashed something just to hear it break. Just to release what he wanted to do to Tauriel for her failure.

_If ever I place my trust in you again it will be hard won, Tauriel.  
_

'My lord?' Legolas' voice disturbed him and bought a little balance back to his mind.

Legolas came down the stairs silently and gazed at the blanket Thranduil was holding. Legolas saw fear and anger at war in his eyes. '_Ada_. What is wrong?'

Thranduil tapped the blanket and it screeched. Legolas frowned at him.

_'Ungol_? Where did you find it?'

'In Leesha's chambers.'

'In her chambers?' Legolas' voice rose. 'What is it doing in her chambers! This is why Tauriel is so upset-'

'Do not speak to me of _her_! I do not care if she jumps off the roof!' Thranduil's shout may have echoed far enough for Tauriel to hear. Legolas held up both hands in swift surrender. His Father calmed.

'_Ada_...not so loud. Please.'

Thranduil's eyes spat fire but he restrained himself from further comment. Then he commanded his aide go in search of a large, clear container. When Thandir returned it was with another man and they carried between them a huge, round bauble that had probably been used to hold a large quantity of wine. Thranduil dumped the creature, blanket and all, inside. It ran around and around, forelegs pedaling desperately for a way out. When it found none it settled sullenly in a corner. Already it had the fangs and sting of a grown spider.

Legolas bent low and whispered; '_Disgusting_. Why are you keeping it alive?'

Thranduil shook his head.

'It was an idea, Legolas. For Anion.'

'Anion fears them.'

'He cannot afford to fear them. None of us can. I must teach him, somehow, to conquer it.'

The King licked his lips anxiously. Legolas could tell there was much on his mind.

'I will find them all,' Legolas promised, hoping to shake his Father from his terror. 'I will search every room in the caverns and find them all. I swear to you.'

'What if they find you first?' the King asked him suddenly. He searched Legolas' face. Legolas gripped his forearm, hoping that his touch might steady his Father.

'I will kill them,' Legolas promised him.

Legolas would have borne his Father's anger much more easily than this. Thranduil's eyes were suddenly full of tears and Legolas felt panicked.

_He fears the loss of his children. Of me,_ he thought. _If even one of those tears fall it will be the end of all my courage!_

Then Thranduil grabbed him and tugged him into an embrace. Legolas gave a soft breath of surprise but he put his head on Thranduil's shoulder willingly. He could smell his Father's skin and hair and it reminded him so much of his childhood. He could remember coming down to breakfast and climbing into Thranduil's lap to eat. How warm and safe he had felt wrapped in his Father's dressing gown! Thranduil would have asked him about his dreams and if he had seen a nightmare, Thranduil would have taken out _the box_. Legolas found himself smiling to think of it. The little wooden box where Thranduil pretending to keep his sons bad dreams.

There was a hot, grim pain in his chest. A bit of fear that the young Legolas who still lived within him had been forsaken under duty and honour but it was becoming clear that Thranduil had not forgotten that boy. Legolas wondered;_ If I stop refusing his touch out of fear of embarrassment, will he comfort me more often when** I** need it? Would he embrace me again from time to time, and tell me more often that he is proud? Perhaps I will stop refusing him!_

Legolas put his hands on his Thranduil's back. His Father was warm and solid in a way he could not appreciate without touch. Suddenly Legolas remembered the last dead man he had touched, in the forest after a skirmish. Legolas imagined his Father cold and limp in the same way and suddenly his heart was full of fear and a fierce instinct rose within him to protect his family at all costs.

'What if they take you,' Thranduil mumbled softly. He could not think what to say to give his Father back his strength but as Thranduil's seemed to fade Legolas found his own courage from somewhere. He was surprised by it, but grateful.

'_Ada_-' he tried. 'I will not let them. I will find every single one for you. I promise I will keep us all safe. Especially Leesha and Anion.'

'I know,' Thranduil found his composure and his strength and nodded. 'I know you will.'

Legolas drew away gratefully, with the sense that his heart was too full for words. Legolas leaned in and kissed his Father's cheek, feeling as if it was the only the only gesture that could adequately speak his love and respect.

'I swear,' he promised again as he pulled away to go in search of _Ungol. _His heart was warm and purpose flowed freely in his blood. He sensed Thranduil was gazing after him. He knew that before the day was out he would have to comfort and discipline Tauriel, and find a way to clear the caverns before the dark came again.

**000**

Anion and Leesha sat side by side on the bear skin rug in Thranduil's study. She was busy threading Autumn leaves together with silken sewing thread to make Gwenthel an elven dress, or so she said. Thranduil's gaze was focused on distant thoughts. A fight started.

'Stop that,' he separated them, one in each hand. 'Do not hit your brother, Leesha. And Anion. You know better than to hit her back!'

'He isn't my brother!' Leesha burst out.

Thranduil sighed and lowered himself to kneel before them.

'Of _course_ he is,' he said evenly. 'Anion may not be your blood but you are both mine now, so who is to say who is brother to who? I say you are brother and sister and I say you will act like it, or what kind of family will we be?'

The girl stared back at him defiantly; 'My Daddy is _dead!_'

'As is mine,' Thranduil nodded. 'Does that mean _we_ cannot be friends?'

'He means he's your Father now, you dunce!' Anion put in, a bit unkindly.

Leesha shook her head.

'No!' she actually stamped her foot and Thranduil was caught somewhere between laughter and tiredness. 'He isn't my Daddy and you aren't even my _friend_!'

'Leesha!' Thranduil called after her, but when she did not return he turned to Anion. 'Thank you, that has made it much harder.'

'I didn't mean to-' Anion said, his lip wobbling.

Thranduil sighed. He took Anion by the shoulders and embraced him. The boy did not even pretend he was too big for it. Thranduil found that worrying. It meant he was very upset.

'She is still so young, Anion. You need to be more gentle with her feelings or she will never accept us. Are you jealous of her?'

Anion shook his head quickly. Thranduil pulled away from him long enough to see his face. His eyes were pink.

'Do not lie to me. I can see it in your eyes!'

Then Anion managed a nod, which bought on tears and for once Thranduil felt like joining him. He bit them back and nodded. Thranduil made a guess that he knew would hit home.

'You think I love her more?'

Anion's breath hitched. He nodded.

'That is not so.'

'Why do you spend all your time with _her_ then!' Anion was crying.

'Because she is only four and she has lost both her parents as you did. Do you remember what it was like when first you came here? You cursed me, you would not let me near you. Leesha will soon see she is an orphan and then she will be afraid that no one in the world now cares for her. We must replace her family before she realizes what she has lost.'

'I don't want to!' Anion said stubbornly. 'She's a _baby_.'

'Anion, do not be so cruel. She needs you.'

'I don't want her.'

'But I do,' said Thranduil softly. He rubbed Anions dark hair rhythmically. 'Do you understand how much I need to have you both near me? Anion, are you listening? Be a brother to her for me, have I not been a friend to you?'

Anion nodded.

'I do not want you to fight. I want you to love each other and love me.'

Anion waited a moment, then he nodded. When he pulled away he wiped his nose on his sleeve and said;

'OK.'

Thranduil nodded in relief, then he smiled.

'We will leave Leesha with Olerydes, yes? And go riding.'

Anion just nodded. When they were half way out of the door, Anion spoke up.

'_Ada_? Is it true that Olerydes is going to have a baby?'

Thranduil sighed.

'Who told you that?'

'Leesha.'

Thranduil looked at him in shock.

'And how did she find out?'

'I don't know,' Anion said.

'How gossip spreads around here. Yes, it is true.'

'How come?'

Thranduil smiled and shook his head

'I think that is a lesson for when you are older.'

'But...I want to know. Is it true that the man puts his privates in the girl and it makes a baby?'

Thranduil bit back a laugh.

'If I tell you, you do NOT tell Leesha. Under any circumstances, Anion.'

'Cross my heart.'

'Yes it is true. No, I will not tell you more.'

Much, much later, Anion was curled up with Leesha on his lap and she was brushing Gwenthel's hair.

'I know how babies are made,' he whispered.

**000**

Phe felt as if she was clawing her way out of the deepest, darkest cave. She felt she had been in an unnatural sleep. Opening her eyes was a great effort but when she managed it, she saw the Autumn sun beyond the window. What few leaves remained on the trees were dry and dessicated and there was the evidence of recent snow. When she turned her head to look around the room, a hot pain lanced up her spine and made her moan in pain.

_How long has it been! Winter is upon us and I feel as if I have been asleep for an age of man!_

'You are awake. Good,' said the woman beside her, whose very dark hair fell in soft waves to her hips. She was an ample maid and quite tall. Phe found her dark eyes gentle. She wore a simple gown of ruby red and a matching ruby on her right hand. The large stone was nested in gold threads. It made Phe think of a dragons eye.

She gave Phe water, and said; 'Drink. Your sleep was long.'

'I do not remember your name,' croaked Phe. Her voice was cracked and dry, like her lips.

'I am Olerydes. Daughter to King Thranduil. You are in the Greenwood still.'

'Olerydes,' Phe said softly. Slowly, memories began to trickle back. 'I have used that name before. I know I have. In the caves. Where we saw the lights!'

Olerydes smiled and nodded.

'Where is my Father?' Phe asked her.

'Your Mother and Father were forced to return home before the ice closed in on the lakes.'

Phe nodded, gently, because every movement hurt a great deal. Phe searched Olerydes' eyes.

'Why am I in so much pain?'

'You fell,' Olerydes settled for that. 'Your back is broken. You have slept for some time. It was best. At first the pain was too much for you.'

Olerydes reached for a fruit and began to peel it.

'In a week or two you should be able to move around. Keep still or you will undo the healing and set yourself back.'

Phe just nodded. Olerydes offered her the fruit and said; 'it may help with the pain.'

Phe raised a hand to take it and her back burned bright and hot. Olerydes reassured her with a pat on the hand.

'It will be alright. I cannot last forever,' she said.

Phe thought of the woods and her horse and her throat became ragged with unshed tears. How could she sit still for that long? What would she_ do_?

'Am I to lie here until then?' she asked. 'I will go mad.'

'You must. Or you will open the bones again. It may cost you your legs, Pephennas. We cannot be sure if you will walk again yet.'

Phe gazed at her in horror. 'No, no, I could not bear that-'

Olerydes put her hand on Phe's shoulder.

'Keep still, then. And you will not need to bear it.'

Phe sighed softly.

'What can I do,' she said, with a small shrug that hurt. 'I have little choice.'

Then she remembered that this woman had been slaving over her broken body.

'Thank you,' she said, 'Olerydes.'

'In a few days when you have had food and water and natural sleep you will feel better.'

'How will I use the privy? I do not think I can rise.'

'I have an answer to that,' Olerydes nodded. By her foot, a pot waited and Olerydes was no keener to get to that point than Phe would be, when she found out that toileting with a broken back was quite embarrassing. 'But I doubt you will like it much. Try to keep still. I will fetch you a book, if you like?'

'I would gladly read,' Phe managed a smile, 'but I am certain I cannot hold it up.'

'I will read to you then.'

**000**

Olerydes stood before the throne.

'How fares our guest?' asked Thranduil.

'She is in pain _Ada_. She asks me for the deep sleep again. She tires of sitting still.'

'Give it to her, then.'

'It may be better for her to wake thinner than to endure this. Thoughts of your anger trouble her. She believes she has done you a great harm. I do not think she had much to do with her Father's plot. So far she seems entirely naive and good natured.'

'And how have you drawn that conclusion?' Thranduil was a bit amused.

'It is a feeling,' Olerydes said, unashamed. 'I find her innocent.'

Thranduil rose and joined his daughter on the same level.

'Will she walk again?' he asked.

'I am uncertain. But so far she had feeling in her toes. It could be many weeks before she can ride or lift. I would be surprised if she returns home before the Summer.'

'We cannot retract our offer of hospitality now. Care for the girl. She is your penance,' he said. 'For your...misbehaviour.'

Olerydes bowed her head to hide her smile. Just like her Father to find a penance she would enjoy. Olerydes was a gifted healer who enjoyed helping others. Nursing Phe would be little punishment. Besides being a very cooperative patient, Olerydes had taken well to the girl.

Olerydes said; 'Do you think she was pushed, _Ada_?'

Thranduil nodded. 'It would not surprise me. Does she remember? Has she spoken of it?'

Olerydes licked her lips. 'No. He meant to kill her, _Ada_, if he did push her over. She must have a guardian spirit on her side, or she would be dead.'

Thrandul just nodded.

'I am certain he pushed her, _Iellig_. She was too light and fair on her feet to fall so carelessly.'

Olerydes agreed.

'Yes, she was.'

'There is talk of an argument in their chambers that night but still I have found no witness,' he sighed.

'_Ada_? You look so tired. Is something the matter?'

Thranduil smiled softly at her beauty and her caring heart.

'Everything is the matter,' he breathed. His composure broke a little and he smiled at her. 'It may as well be Winter and I am getting cold and sore from this damned seat. I have not seen the frozen lake yet, nor looked upon the snowy hills. That is a tradition for me! It is like someone has glued my backside to the chair,' he complained.

Olerydes burst out laughing. She turned and made to leave in teasing, 'I will fetch some glue.'

Thranduil caught her hand and smiled. 'Do not tease me. I desire your company, _Iellig_. Can you still ride?'

'I think so,' she nodded. 'I no longer feel so ill in the mornings. I suppose I should be grateful for that.'

'Then come riding with me today.'

Thranduil passed a mirror and stopped. Gazing at himself his eyes fell on the crown. Then he turned to Olerydes.

'Fetch me your brother,' he said. 'It is time Legolas learned the weight of this crown.'

**000**

Thranduil smoothed his sons hair with one hand and then he placed the crown over his ears and stood back to admire.

'Well,' he smiled. 'A prettier sight I have never seen. Legolas, do not look so glum. You will get used to it.'

Legolas did look glum and nervous too. He did not fill the seat like Thranduil. He had not perfected the same grace or presence. He was less inspiring, though he did contain hidden strength that none of his family would deny. Legolas did not feel ready to wear the crown even for a few hours. Thranduil smiled softly. Already he felt lighter, his heart unburdened. He was content that someone responsible was taking care of _him_ for a change.

'Do you remember your lessons?' Thranduil asked.

'Yes,' Legolas licked his lips.

Thranduil bent low to look into his eyes. He grasped his son's shoulder firmly.

'Use them. I will be back before the stars come out and I will relieve you of this most cumbersome burden. I know it is less than comfortable for you. It was for me, too, when Oropher first put his crown on my head for a day. It is better to get some practice, or one day your sorrow will be compounded by sudden responsibility. I will be laughing from the stars at your discomfort,' Thranduil teased. 'But it will _not_ be so funny to you.'

'Do not say that,' Legolas said, softly. He felt like a boy again only this time he was not sitting in his Father's lap, but in his place. 'I do _not_ want to think about it.'

Thranduil brushed his face with smooth, warm fingers. The boy relaxed a bit.

'I have no intention of leaving you yet. My treasure.'

For once Legolas did not argue with the endearment. He could remember Thranduil using it when he was still nursing. Before his Mother's death.

'I feel out of place,' Legolas admitted quietly.

'So did I, at first. I felt as if I had no right to sit there, not with my father so recently gone cold. But your Father is not cold yet and you are just borrowing my chair,' Thranduil smiled and stood up lighter.

Legolas was toying uncomfortably with the arm rest when Thranduil and Olerydes left together.

**000**

Every breath hurt and sleep was difficult. When it did come it was broken, fragmented and interspersed with torturous dreams. First her _Ada_ chased her laughing to the edge and she relived the awful panic of her fall. Then in another King Thranduil laid his sword against her throat and she woke with a start which hurt her back. She pleaded with Olerydes to put her back into the deep sleep. There had been no dreams before and Phe wanted to return to that.

'I will, soon,' Olerydes finally relented, but she did not until Phe had endured the torturous and humiliating experience of a bowel movement. Once that unpleasantness was out of the way, Olerydes began bubbling a cup of herbs and Phe recognized the smell from the day she had woken. Just the scent of them was enough to comfort her. Before Olerydes could pour them into a cup there was a knock at the door. When Olerydes saw who it was she stood back. Phe felt a moment of dread and shame. She did not want to be seen in her sickbed but there was no time to argue.

Thranduil had to dip his head to avoid hitting his crown on the low door frame. Gracefully he did so. Phe's belly fluttered at the sight of him. Thranduil filled her room with a presence her Father entirely lacked. His eyes were the same colour as the winter sky and his crown was almost bare of dessicated leaves. Like their first meeting, his presence seemed to wrap around her heart and lighten her load. It made her want to cry too. It felt as if all her pain was waiting behind a gate to be released.

'My lord, I would rise-' she said quickly, but Olerydes stilled her.

'Under no circumstances,' Thranduil cut his daughter off before she had chance to speak. 'I will assume you have paid your respects and not look to you for any more today.'

Phe indicated she understood with her hand. It was a trick Olerydes had taught her to avoid moving her neck.

'Lady Pephennas,' Thranduil came a bit closer. 'I would not want you to think your presence here had been forgotten. We are pleased to be your hosts a while longer, though we wish it was under different circumstances.'

'My lord, I thought I had done you a great shame! I am sorry for my Father-'

Thranduil held up a hand.

'Do not speak to me of him,' he said.

Phe nodded. It still hurt in her heart, being so publicly rejected. She felt isolated and defenseless. The tears were thick in her throat.

_Perhaps it is because I am a widow that he refused me? He is so beautiful, but so frightening too_.

He went on; 'I have come to say that you are welcome in my house for as long as you have need.'

'My lord, I am grateful to you, you have saved me,' Phe stumbled, 'I do not wish to be a burden to you.'

'You will not be a burden,' he assured her.

'I have never been so far from home, my lord, I am afraid to be so alone. Could my Mother not have stayed?' Phe stopped talking and realized this was too unguarded for a Kings presence.

He moved with the silky breath of expensive cloth and laid his hand upon the back of her own. Phe sensed Olerydes was watching keenly. His touch sent curls of warm contentment into her heart and her tears receded a little. She flushed pink. Her heart began to creak open its gates and beckon him inside. His touch was comforting and arousing, and very welcome. She wished she could tell him so.

'Do not be afraid, my lady,' he said softly, his Winter eyes searching her face. 'Fear is the enemy of peace.'

Phe nodded, speechless.

'I would have you be peaceful.'

He stood. 'Give her sleep,' he commanded.

When he had left, Olerydes handed her the cup and helped Phe to drink. As it settled in her tummy and she began to get drowsy, Olerydes hid her knowing expression.

_Does he favour the girl, or is he simply keeping Caduven's daughter close? _She wondered, as Phe sank gratefully into numb unconsciousness. Phe did not dream.

**000**

For a week the weather warmed and the snow receded. Thranduil waited for it to return and return it did, to compact the ground into an icy trap. Within the caverns the temperature remained quite steady, though cool but outside his breath froze around his lips and ice crystals formed in his hair. He commanded the mages to double the warding at their borders, but even the power of the Elvenking could not stop the march of Winter. His crown was stripped of leaves and worn bare.

Legolas' lesson in being King had made him much more grateful for his simpler life and lesser troubles. He seemed to have discovered a new lease of immaturity which was bringing him a lot closer to Anion, who had become his partner in mischief. Thranduil was outwardly vexed but inwardly amused.

Leesha grew out of her first pair of shoes and much to Thranduil's delight, improved her feelings towards them all. He made a habit of putting her to bed himself. She seemed to sleep better that way. Once she was asleep it was easy enough to walk away. Leesha was not a restless child, indeed she had a tendency to oversleep if left to her own devices. She did not like the cold. He thought it sweet and he watched her closely in those quiet Winter days. Their bond strengthened. Fondness and caring turned into love. Soon he felt as attached to her as to his blood children. Leesha seemed to be settling in. Routine had certainly helped her and so did sweet berry jam.

**000**

The morning before Midwinters Day, Thranduil was laughing and catching Leesha's spider-hands as they crawled up his shirt. She made growling sounds as they nibbled at his collar and he pretended to be afraid. Leesha found that quite delightful. She had perched herself next to him on the throne for some three days now, for the hour each morning between her breakfast and her lessons with the master. She seemed to like to sit with him and watch the world go by and there was nothing to do in the mornings that was unsuitable for her ears. Thranduil let her sit there and play. That day, Olerydes came to see them.

'What news_ Iellig_?' he said, still smiling at Leesha's antics. 'Does she wake?'

'Yes, she is awake, and she feels less pain. She has more movement and she is stronger. I think she may walk, _Ada_.'

Thranduil rose and bought Leesha with him on his hip.

'That is good news,' he said. Then he smiled at Leesha. 'Leesha has been hunting _Ungol_! She is not afraid, are you my little one?'

'Oh, but they are big spiders!' Olerydes teased her gently.

'It does not matter,' Thranduil smiled. 'She will squash them anyway. She is not afraid of my new pet. She is such a brave girl.'

Leesha nodded and smirked. Thranduil put her down gently.

'Go and find your brother, my sweetling.'

Off she ran with a brief glance behind. Olerydes watched her go. Thranduil spied the moment of broodiness that crossed her face. Now that the shock of her unexpected pregnancy was over and she had been publicly chastised for her bad behaviour, Thranduil was beginning to get a little bit excited. He was working hard not to show it yet, he did not want to reward the girl, but at the same time the idea of a new baby delighted him. He had wanted to be a Grandfather for so long that it was hard to stay upset with her.

'How are you feeling, _Iellig_?'

Olerydes hid her face and Thranduil read her correctly. She was ashamed to talk to him about her pregnancy.

'Tired, _Ada_.'

'Perhaps another healer should take over? I believe you have done your duty.'

'No, she trusts me and we have a routine,' Olerydes said. '_Ada_, I-' She stalled before the words could come out.

'What is it?'

Olerydes caught his crystalline blue eyes and lost her courage. She did not want to remind him of what she had done, or see his loving expression turn into anger.

'Nothing, _Ada_,' she smiled reassuringly.

Thranduil brushed a curl of hair off her temple and said softly;

'You blink when you lie.'

Olerydes smiled.

'I will have to remember that,' she sighed. 'I am...just afraid.'

Thranduil put his arm around her. Olerydes sighed into his jacket and smiled softly when he rubbed her shoulder. He heard her breathing hitch and knew she was about to weep. He lowered his head and put his lips against her scalp. He closed his eyes. She smelled so familiar. She always favoured this same perfume and he thought it suited her very well.

'What is wrong?' he asked gently.

Olerydes shook her head.

'Please. Tell me.'

'I miss him,' she finally croaked. 'I should have said nothing. I was afraid of him, I-'

'I could not be gladder he is gone from your life.'

Olerydes sniffed and shook her head. Thranduil continued;

'Legolas has been to talk to me, _Iellig_. He says there may have been an injury which affected Ronir's behaviour. I would not want to guess if that were so. It is strange because I had always thought of him as quite a gentle man, like his Father.'

'He is,' Olerydes whispered. 'At least he _was_, until recently._ Ada_...I wish he could be here. I do not want to do this alone!'

Olerydes searched his face. She wanted to ask him if it was possible to bring Ronir back but the words would not come out. She knew he would be angry with her.

'I know what you seek and no, I will not,' he said.

Olerydes heart sank but she said nothing. Once her Father had made up his mind, dissuading him was very hard. She changed the subject and vowed to return to this one later when his anger had faded.

'I know it is impossible, _Ada_, but sometimes when I am alone, late at night, I swear I hear her talking to me. Not in words, in thoughts and feelings...I do not understand it.'

'Her?' he questioned.

'Yes,' Olerydes nodded. 'She is a girl.'

Thranduil's brows knitted together.

'You have heard voices before, if I recall.'

'Yes,' she nodded.

'Still?' he asked.

'Sometimes,' she nodded. 'Sometimes when I feel lost and need guidance, the Spirit still talks to me and tells me where to go and how to manage. It helps me too, when I heal. What do you think?' she asked softly.

'I think you should listen,' he said. 'If there is a voice speaking then there is something you need to hear.'

**000**

Upon her second proper waking Phe found her range of movement much improved. She could lift her own cup and move her neck a little bit, though all her muscles felt weak and useless. Olerydes helped her to wash and clean her teeth and then she bound up Phe's waist and back with bandages and a splint and helped her dress in something clean. Olerydes warned her not to bend or lift more than a glass of water. Olerydes would fill her cup for her and her food would be served on a high table so that less movement had to be endured. Phe was propped up on some pillows with a warm meal in her belly when the King paid her another visit. This time he wore a silver blue overcoat which was so long it trailed the ground. He held a slim book.

'_Hir vuin_!' Phe was surprised to see him again. 'What a pleasant surprise. I would rise but-'

'No, my lady. We can dispense with courtesies until you can rise without wincing.'

Olerydes supplied him with a chair. He lowered himself into it and bowed his head to her in warm greeting. She was glad that she had washed and changed her clothes.

'I am glad to see you a little more recovered, _hiril vuin_.'

'I feel less pain,' Phe said quickly, 'Olerydes has taken such good care of me. I owe her so much.'

'_Iellig_ is a gifted healer,' he agreed. 'You do owe much to her skill.'

'I shall not forget,' Phe turned to smile at her doctor.

Then the King produced a book.

'This is for you, my lady. I am told you like to read. Perhaps it will stave off the quietness.'

Phe took it in surprisingly unsteady hands.

'Thank you, my lord.'

Thranduil gestured to the tome behind her head.

'A history of the Greenwood and her King, Oropher,' he read. 'A wonderful text full of lies and extrapolation, though the illustrations are lovely.'

'How so, my lord? I thought it was concise and respectful.'

Thranduil gestured for it. Olerydes handed it over and he turned it over in his graceful hands. For a moment his eyes shadowed with memory then he said;

'Oropher was a brilliant strategist and warrior. But these were not his greatest gifts. He had true mastery of people, of speech and unfortunately for some, of lies. He had also a great intelligence, which frightened even his family! The author paints a picture at odds with his truth. He was a family man, my lady, and a man of deep faith which is hardly mentioned here. This is only half of his story.'

Thranduil wet his bottom lip with his tongue and it shone. Phe gazed at it, intrigued. It had been years since she had kissed a man and only ever Rosdaer.

_Do you ever kiss anyone, my lord? Your mistress perhaps? You must have one. Do you please only yourself with her, or do you give her pleasure too?_

'I did not know he had a strong faith,' she murmured, to cover her own errant thinking. 'It does not mention it, nor much of his family except their names.'

'The book was commissioned to tell a certain truth to eyes and ears we knew were watching at the time, and it worked. Words have a great deal of power. My Father wished to send a message that would protect his house and Kingdom.'

Phe nodded.

'So...a King cannot afford truth...I mean to say that he cannot be himself like a common man?'

'No, he cannot,' Thranduil agreed. 'Oropher was gentle, perhaps a little too gentle at times. He would have called it _his weakness_. Indeed he called my gentleness exactly that.'

'Is it really a weakness, my lord? I think softness can be a strength, when used correctly!'

Thranduil sat back.

'And how does one use softness correctly?'

'Maybe it shows itself as mercy-' she breathed, nervously. 'Or pity. Or kindness.'

'Do you think me soft,_ hiril vuin_?'

Phe chanced a glance and found his brows were knitted together.

'I find you strong,' she whispered. 'I do not know how you can be so strong. It is like you are invulnerable, sire. If you have softness in you it is the best sort.'

'You see much Lady Pephennas,' he said. 'But still you know only half the story of King Thranduil.'

Phe searched the pattern on the rug for answers. He spoke in riddles at times. It was hard to discern whether she had angered him or not. She did not want to anger him. She thought of the long road home. If he threw her from Sindaroth as he had done with her parents, the journey would see her lame. A nagging feeling in the back of her mind reminded her that her Father might not want her back at all.

'My lord, if I have offended you I am sorry-'

'No. You have not,' he made to rise and a feeling warred within Phe.

Many memories had already returned to her from the time before her fall. Phe made to touch his hand but she was not bold enough. She fell short by an inch or two. Thranduil turned his head to look at her. Being a King so well acquainted with reading faces, he returned slowly to his seat and gazed into her eyes. They may as well have told the truth for her.

'My lord. May I speak with you...alone?'

Thranduil commanded Olerydes to leave and when she was gone he gestured.

'We are alone, _hiril vuin_,' he offered her a smile that was more warming than any he gave around his daughter.

'About...my Father, my lord,' Phe saw nothing on his face that suggested she should stop immediately.

_Perhaps he has calmed down a little._

'A great harm was done, was it not? It was unfair to propose the match in public so soon.'

Thranduil did not say anything, so Phe ploughed on.

'I did not come here to trick you, _hir vuin_,' she finally whispered. 'I did not know his intentions until after the feast...when you spoke to me on the balcony?'

Thranduil's face had become unreadable, his eyes heavy and full of some feeling he was not showing. He listened silently to her.

'My lord? I am afraid to tell you. I think you will punish me.'

'I will hear it before I decide.'

Phe sensed from his tone that he would not let her backtrack now.

'My father is a proud man, _hir vuin_. But beneath it he is...unsure...of his own worth. His greatest fears are obscurity and death. We are not fools, my lord. I am a widow and therefore unfit to wed a King. _Ada_ must have known that. Though he did not confide in _me_, I feel certain that if he did begin the rumour, it was because he was afraid to ask you outright. He does not feel worthy of your favour.'

Thranduil's lips thinned.

'So this is a confession?' he asked softly.

'It is a testimony for his good character, my King, which is buried under his fear.'

Thranduil rose slowly from his chair. Phe felt as if he had seen something which frightened him a little, though she did not say that.

'Why would you tell me this?'

Phe looked at his boots.

'I...do not believe in telling lies. My Father has ruined us, out of his insecurity.'

His hair shifted with the disbelieving shake of his head. 'You are innocent as a maid,' he whispered.

'Perhaps,' Phe said softly. '_Ada _always says I am naïve. I am at your mercy and you have shown me kindness, my lord.'

'What if I strike at your family,' he leaned over her suddenly, bringing his face to her level and his eyes, those awful, freezing eyes, so close that Phe wanted to back away. 'I might send my kin to burn his lands and topple your castle, so that I cannot be made a fool by my own hospitality again!'

Phe's hands began to shake. She struggled to find her voice.

'If- if there is something you want from me, my Lord? Perhaps I might give it freely in gratitude for all the kindness you have shown me?'

Thranduil's eyes burned and became hungry. Suddenly he was quite close to her lips. 'There _is_ something I desire from you.'

Phe tried to ignore her pounding heart and trembling hands. She knew this line she walked was so fine she could topple from it at any moment. She could not make this sound like a deal, or Thranduil would surely refuse her just because he _could._

'Then ask, my lord,' Phe tried to smile.

For a moment he swayed a little closer. She was so sure he was about to kiss her. His eyes fluttered closed, as though temptation had risen to torment him. Then he stood fluidly, leaving her lips cold and her desires unfulfilled.

'You seek to protect your Father,' he shook his head slowly. 'I am concerned that you think me such a _fool_!'

'Not a fool!' Phe said quickly. '_A King who can forgive_!'

Something must have pinched in Thranduil's heart because he winced, but his face returned to normal too quickly to discern what that meant. His footfalls were quiet as he backed from the room.

'_Forgive_ _Me_, my lord. If not my Father. I have told you what I know...so that you can see I do not lie!'

'So that I will trust you,' he nodded, unconvinced.

'My reputation is ruined. Any match my Father makes will know of your refusal. They will feel as if they are naught but a third choice. That is not a flattering thing to tell a husband on his wedding night,' Phe stared at her bare feet. 'I have nothing to gain by lying to you my lord, but the truth may win back my honour. Since my Father does not care enough to protect it.'

Thranduil stopped. _She wishes a new name. I see it now. She would sooner I give her a place in these halls and invite her to stay, even as a lowly aide perhaps, than she would return home to another match she does not want._ Thranduil understood. Meeting the King had become her ticket out of her sorrows.

'You are certainly brave,' he conceded. 'To speak to me so plainly.'

Phe gazed into his face and wondered if she had just made the biggest mistake of her life. Then he said;

'You would leave your family home for your honour and become my kin. Am I not correct? You wish an escape?'

'I do, my lord,' she whispered. 'I do not like the games he plays. I do not want them to decide my future. I do not have a choice if I stay with him. No daughter does.'

'You seek your freedom.'

'For which I would marry my lord. Or, work.'

'Both may be applicable, in the right circumstances,' he breathed.

Then he opened the door and swept through it. Phe stared at the back of her hands, heart torn and so frightened that she felt weak and faint.

Half way down the stairs Olerydes caught up with Thranduil and grabbed his forearm.

'_Ada_! What are you doing?!'

Thranduil's gaze was chilly and guarded.

'Leave me be, Olerydes.'

'She is mad! She is grieving for her injury. You cannot.'

'That is no business of yours,' Thranduil said, 'You should not be listening at doors.'

'Pephennas is delicate. More than her back was broken that day. You must not torture her. You would take her for a lover and leave her hand. She cannot _refuse_ you! You are her _King_!'

'Are you my keeper, Daughter?' he glared at her.

'No,' Olerydes said softly. 'I care for her. She is like a sister to me now. She will not be enough.'

'Speak no more to me on this-'

Olerydes approached him and laid both hands on his arms.

'_Ada_...when you take the women from the Lake...you become angry and sad. You drink more wine and you go to your study and you will not see us. I know you feel ashamed!'

Thranduil opened his mouth to cut her down to size. He saw the love in her eyes and all the strength went out of his backbone.

'If I am, then let me be with my shame in peace!' he hissed, and Olerydes backed away from him slowly. Thranduil turned and descended.

Olerydes chewed her thumbnail and watched him go. Thranduil disappeared and Olerydes knew he would be going to his study to brood.

_You know nothing of my mind,_ he thought, as he paced the bear skin rug behind closed doors. _Nothing! If I wanted a concubine I would buy one, if I wanted a whore I would go to the lake or to the smalltowns and find a girl who has never been bedded by an elf, and watch her face while I take her. How they love my muscular body and my long hair. I would have no trouble in finding a willing girl! I do not want Pephennas for a lover. _

Thranduil turned to gaze into the _Ungol_ tank, unaccountably angry with Olerydes for interfering and confused as to what he really felt. He was accustomed to subverting feelings under duty so when he had a feeeling it was like greeting an old, untrustworthy acquaintance while wondering at the purpose of his visit.

_I do not want her for a lover_, he repeated to himself, unconvincingly. _I want her to smile for me. To **trust** me._

Thranduil's heart began to ache, a dull and piercing pain beneath his breastbone. he desired company again. Innocent, loving company for fun and foolishness. For forgetfulness. He thought of the girl and tried to hope but she was a guarded thing, too fettered by propriety.

_What must go unspoken for now __is that I would **care** for you, my lady, if you would let me._

**000**

For the rest of the day, Thranduil avoided company and delegated the remaining tasks to his advisers. When sunset came he shed his boots and took his bow and quiver. He disappeared into the Greenwood, walking so fast that the guardsmen jumped out of his way on the gate. The forest asked no questions and told no lies, at least none to one now accustomed to the toxic atmosphere. Thranduil was all but immune to the hallucinogenic effect by weight of exposure over time.

The dark swallowed him whole and for some time he walked alone on the branches, wondering if_ it_ would happen again. _The colours._ He closed his eyes and his ears took over. Then suddenly the colours ignited. Dim at first but soon they began to flash and pulse. Before long they mapped the trees and the distant spiders and the birds roosting high above. He went deep into the forest, testing his feet and legs, feeling the soft moss between his toes and breathing deeply the smell of the forest. Then the colours showed him the glowing white aura of a doe.

When she smelled him coming she darted from beneath the thicket. Thranduil saw now fawn in tow and it was not the season for births. He pursued, along the thick branches from tree to tree.

_Trust the lights,_ said a vivid thought, which seemed to have dropped into his head from nowhere.

_I am,_ he answered, without thinking.

**_No, _**said the voice, which had more weight of command and power behind it than any he had mustered in all his time as King. This was the voice of some great spirit, he was sure of it. He had heard it only a few times and every time it came to teach him something.

_**Trust the lights!**_

And then he ran out of branches and empty space claimed him. Below there was nothing but darkness. He fell through it, his lungs seized and his body ready for the impact but then a green burst exploded behind his eyes and he smacked face first into something soft and pliable. He slid down it with little real discomfort and landed winded on his feet on the bracken. He gasped, sinking to one knee in shock. The spirit laughed loud and long at his misfortune, then faded. Then a burst of white broke through the underbrush and Thranduil twisted, the arrow nocked so fast that the doe had no time to divert. It hit home with a _whump_ and she fell with a squeal.

He found her by the failing light she exuded. Her skin was warm and soft. She struggled, keening. In the dark his blade came free silently. Thranduil slit her throat before she could wake the forest and stood to wipe the blood off his face. When she had drained almost dry, he hauled her carcass onto his shoulders and tied her feet together. He set off through the dying lights to find the gates.

He was calmer and cleaner and his mind was full of the cool, misty night. He felt as if he had left his anger behind in the branches. As if the forest had drawn it out like poison. At the gate the colours shut down abruptly and left him. He strode over the long bridge.

A new recruit stared at him from his post, beside an older, more experienced guard. Thranduil was covered in moss and dirt and he strode through the doors without a word. He disappeared into one of the small, stone rooms they used to prepare meat.

There he lit a lamp and found a knife. He worked silently until all he had was a bucket of guts and a pile of bones and sinews, and a rack hanging with dripping strips of venison. When he was done he went to wash himself and found a maid bringing water to the fountains.

'Tell Salla to make a stew,' he ordered her. 'I will take it in my study when it is ready.'

The girl curtseyed, her eyes wide at his bloodied hands and stained hair. He smiled at her, coolly.

'What are you waiting for?'

'Yes my lord, sorry my lord,' she squeaked, and fled to carry out his orders.

* * *

_**A/N** - Kudos if you can spot the Game of Thrones or the Avatar references. I just HAD to do it! Game of Thrones is very political and it's inspired a lot of the customs and dialogue, along with a few of those period dramas. Sense and Sensibility helped too!  
_

_Hope you enjoyed. This chapter was horrible to write actually because it's all peoples thoughts and choices and a verbal dance for something Phe wants so...I'm kind of glad it's over! Let me know what you think. Reviews always appreciated and thanks to all those who have so far._

**_Translations_**

_Forgive me/Sorry - Goheno nin_

_My Lady - Hiril Vuin _

_My lord - Hir vuin_

_My daughter = Iellig _


	6. An Uncertain Beginning

**5 – An Uncertain Beginning  
**

The blue green waters of this warm lagoon were fed by hot springs that rose beneath the caverns. This natural, indoor bath was the private, welcome retreat of the royal family. Thranduil let the heat sweep away his pains and relax his muscles. It drew from him all the tension of the last week. He ran a hand through the ripples. His skin exuded a soft, white glow which shimmered like a starlight underwater. Some had recently insinuated that it had grown dimmer in recent years, bringing him closer to the nature of man than elf.

_Perhaps it is a sign that my journey draws near,_ he thought. He had put off that decision until Legolas became more capable.

His back was stiff from sitting so long and his hair had grown oily. Thandir had offered to wash it for him but Thranduil wanted to be alone tonight. He lounged against the rocks with a bauble of rich, ruby wine. The glass clinked against the stone as he shifted about. His wet hair clung to his throat and chest and he once threw it over his shoulder to stream in the current.

Haliel's ghost was still down here; a wispy specter made of Thranduil's memories. Now and then he would catch a whiff of her favourite scent and swear she was nearby. Occasionally he would wake to a snippet of her voice but she always faded too quickly, like a dying flame. At first he had suffered his grief like a sickness but now he had sunk into weary, lonely resignation. In the time since her death Thranduil had forsaken all Gods except _the Voice_.

Olerydes had a gift for saying what was true but still his ears baulked at her honesty. He spat feathers at her cheek but praised her integrity. Lately he had finally taken her nagging for the loving act it was and begun to drink less wine. Thranduil did not enjoy sobriety. It bought on a secret, desperate desire to be loved again. The mausoleum quiet of his halls and chambers hinted at serial loneliness. His children had become his confidantes but soon even they would fly his nest. Olerydes was very close to making her own life. Now her child would become the most important thing in her world.

_As it should be, _he thought.

Thranduil did not wish to burden sensitive Lilia with the troubles of power when it was unlikely she would ever be Queen. On Legolas however, much rode. Thranduil was beginning to sense the boy required a wife. He was certainly no longer a child. He had grown up overnight, leaving his father reeling in surprise.

_Even he does not yet see his need, but he is innocent. He needs company and counsel and someone to confide in who loves him unconditionally._ _Soon they will all be gone from me._ The thought filled Thranduil with equal parts fierce pride and dread.

And then, there was Pephennas. Thranduil was no fool. He would not fall for the first pretty face but Phe's innocence had charmed him. So had her attempts to confide in him and to win his trust.

_**More** my lady, _he willed her._ What I want from you is not what you give knowingly, it is what you **are**. Give me **who you are** and I will love you for it. You will be the first in a long time to do this. _

Thranduil sighed a gentle breath through parted lips as fair as rose petals. With this relaxation came an unexpected erection. He closed his palm around his aching manhood and enjoyed the familiarity of his own warm flesh. Then with gentle strokes be began to coax pleasure from his body. He was not surprised when Phe appeared in his imagination. Thranduil sighed happily and then the door opened and Legolas strode in carrying a towel. Thranduil released his erection and pretended innocence. The boy was in the wrong place to see what Thranduil was doing, for which his Father was very grateful.

'I did not know you were in here,_ Ada_.'

'Clearly,' Thranduil's voice was soft and relaxed. 'I am _certain_ I taught you to knock.'

'I thought you would be abed,' Legolas nodded.

Thranduil thought to himself sullenly; _If I were abed, would I get more peace there? _

'No,' Thranduil picked up his wine. 'Though I may be soon.'

Legolas sensed his Father wanted to be alone. He touched the door handle to leave but then he turned to look at the back of Thranduil's head. Thranduil could sense something was on his mind. He waited.

'_Ada_. Words have been flying around the court. Many still adhere to the Old Way. Do you think Olerydes will marry now? They are saying she is shamed forever.'

'The foolish will always gossip Legolas. You and Olerydes would do well to ignore them. I will deal with any insurrection that is bought before me with evidence but past that, you must grow a thicker skin. When she has mended her heart for Ronir she will have a suitable match. Perhaps a Widower or an older, more reliable elf than _he_.'

Legolas nodded.

'She does not blame you, _Ada_.'

'I am not so sure,' Thranduil's eyes narrowed. _What is the boy getting at? _ 'Has she spoken to you, then? About Ronir?'

'Not to me,' Legolas shrugged. Legolas recalled the sword on Thranduil's lap the morning set for Ronir's trial. 'Lilia says she weeps all night sometimes. Would you have killed him?'

'I did think of it,' Thranduil nodded. 'But it is too late now. Perhaps if I catch him I will be tempted.'

'I will miss her when she marries.'

'As will I,' Thranduil said. 'But I cannot keep you all forever. One day you must all start families of your own. That is how we grow up. You all have an appointed time.'

Legolas licked his lips nervously. _'Ada_-' he started.

Thranduil did not try to fill the sudden silence. He was waiting for Legolas to work up his nerve. When the boy lost his confidence and made for the door, Thranduil commanded him softly, '_Stop, Legolas_. Tell me what you are struggling with.'

Legolas sighed. 'There is someone...I am close to,' he finally confessed.

'How close?'

'Very close,' Legolas sounded nervous.

'Do _not_ tell me she is with child!'

'_What?_ No!' Legolas burst out in shock. Thranduil smiled softly at the wall. He had surely made the boy blush but he was not so cruel as to turn and stare.

'Good. Go on, then. Do I know this maid? Assuming she _is_ still a maid.'

'_Ada_,' Legolas sounded very unhappy. 'I would not do that to her! She is innocent and perfect in every way. And yes, you know her.'

Thranduil turned. He found Legolas flushed and bothered.

'If you have picked that silvan _wench_, I will-'

Legolas hid his blush.

'No,' said Thranduil flatly. 'You will not marry Tauriel. She is far beneath you.'

'Tauriel is as good as any lady to me,' he finally said.

Thranduil leaned forward. 'Not to me. Her Father was a pig boy. There are others more worthy with greater importance to our family.'

'I do not think that is important,' Legolas breathed.

'_**I**_ do.'

For a long minute Legolas gazed angrily at his Father and then he said stubbornly;

'I will _not _love who you choose.'

Thranduil shook his head.

'I do not care if you love her, Legolas. You only have to marry her and sire children. If Tauriel wishes to be your mistress afterwards then I will turn a blind eye but you will marry who I choose.'

'That is not fair! You loved Mother before you were married,' Legolas came closer to glare down at his Father. Thranduil hid nakedness against the side of the pool. Any plans to use his earlier erection were long gone now.

'Do not test me, Legolas,' he warned.

His son curved his lips in an accurate approximation of his Father's most intimidating stare.

'I _love_ Tauriel.'

Thranduil made a noise that was half a sigh and half a hiss.

'Do _not_ say that in front of me.'

'You dislike her for more than her birth!' Legolas accused.

'Yes,' Thranduil said patiently. 'I most _certainly_ do.'

'She tries hard to please you! One failure at work does not make her an unsuitable bride! She has redeemed herself in my eyes.'

Thranduil knew only too well the value of the right woman to a King. He had no desire to see Legolas unhappy but neither would he hand his crown to a low born elf.

'I will not allow it. Put her out of your mind.'

Legolas pulled away from him and hauled the door open. His Father's shout echoed up the corridor behind him.

_'Legolas!'_

But his son was already gone. Thranduil made a face and turned back to his bath, irritated.

**000**

Thranduil sensed the worst of the snows coming. In his dreams, he saw great drifts marching across the land like soldiers in white silk, throwing snow bombs at his men. Then his men became his family and Thranduil sat up in bed, cold of heart and tired of bad weather. The next morning, the land was carpeted in white. The drifts rose four feet tall at their deepest and they went marching one after the other in the direction of the biting wind. Already these early snows had caused accidents and so guards were dispatched with hot torches and shovels. Sindaroth was quiet that day. Almost everyone had gone outside to enjoy the snow.

Thranduil felt lonely in the caves and indeed it was a quiet day even for a King. He watched Legolas ride off on patrol with Tauriel. Her copper hair streamed in the wind and the lightly falling flakes landing on her face and nose like stars. Thranduil was irritable. His mind was busy and his body seemed to have woken from a long slumber. Twice he had found himself suddenly aroused. It was beginning to wear thin. He went to find his chief Gaoler, Halben and pulled him outside to practise their blades.

Halben's gift was unique and he matched the King for speed. Holding a sword seemed to help but still Thranduil felt ill at ease. He wondered how far Legolas would go to defy him. Thranduil lost the match, and the next one too. Halben was good enough not to laugh but a few titters did go around the courtyard and so Thranduil, reluctant to be shamed thus, put a little more effort into their fighting.

From a high window he spied a streaming scarf of sweet, pink silk which had been caught by the wind and drawn off the owners shoulders. Phe was battling the wind to get it back. Thranduil stared at her, captivated. He smiled when Olerydes grabbed it and both girls laughed. And suddenly she was looking down, her hair picking up. Olerydes followed her gaze and saw her Father, who was then abruptly bashed about the shoulders by Halben. He staggered and grabbed a bench and then turned with something close to fury in his eyes. Halben held up both hands and laughed.

'I'm sorry!' he cried.

Thranduil smiled tightly, and the next match he won.

That afternoon he took Leesha and Anion out to play in the snow. He watched the window often but he did not see her again. Not her waterfall of chocolate hair, nor her pink scarf, nor perhaps, a wave of her hand. He wondered if it was worth losing a match properly so that she might pity him as a lady should, but then he discounted it because it would surely ruin his reputation.

**000**

One cold morning, Phe stood unaided. Olerydes realised that together she and Lilia could have Phe walking around a little, so a few days passed in which they took her to the bath house, around the lower floors and into the branches a little way. Phe began to smile more, for which Olerydes was grateful. She had been dour of late. Olerydes had wondered if Phe was losing hope for her recovery but this development improved Phe's spirits greatly and they all laughed and joked as they went.

They were standing by one of the great, upper windows when a noise startled all three. Olerydes had been on edge since the _Ungol_ had surprised them in the pool. She reached automatically for her dagger but she found only her Father standing behind them. He smiled warmly.

'_Ada_,' she sighed in relief. 'You startled me.'

'_Iellig_,' he nodded. Then he bowed his head in polite greeting to Phe, who returned it, blushing. She could think only of their last conversation and she wondered if he had come with his answer.

'_Hiril vuin._ I am pleased to see you recovered so. How are you feeling?'

'It is harder to walk than I had imagined it would be,' Phe said. 'I feel very tired. But I feel brighter for being outside my chamber!'

Thranduil stepped a little closer.

'Lilia, Olerydes, do you not have five minutes business to attend to elsewhere?' he turned to gaze at his eldest who just bowed her head and tugged her sister out of the room. When they shut the door he smiled at Phe warmly. It was a smile she had not seen since their first conversation alone on the balcony.

_'Hir vuin_,' Phe offered him a bow of her head and a warmer smile. 'Perhaps it is only you and I who do not get to play in the snow.'

Thranduil walked to the window and gazed down. Phe was suddenly aware of how tall he was. There was a foot of difference between the top of her head and the tip of his crown. He wore a coat in Autumn colours. It suited him well.

'I am afraid I was smashed about the head with a snowball earlier. Leesha is a strong girl, for her age. But if you had the strength we might remedy that.'

'Do not tease me,' she said softly. 'I love the snow. I do _not_ have the strength.'

He turned to her and folded his arms. Then he cocked an eyebrow.

'Will you take dinner with me,_ hiril vuin_? This evening.'

'Of course, _hir vuin,' _Phe's heart thumped merrily.

'Until tonight then,' he stepped away from her, and disappeared through the door, his coat trailing after him.

Phe gazed after him like a fool. Olerydes said nothing when she returned but Phe had the sense the older girl already knew that something had passed between them. Phe hoped she would not take exception to it if Thranduil did as she hoped and offered her freedom for in return for his pleasure.

**000**

Olerydes brushed and braided Phe's hair. She draped a string of pearls around her throat. She fetched Phe a cloth to wipe her face and hands. All the time she sang softly about an old lord and his lady love. From the lyrics, Phe gathered the maid was quite innocent and the lord himself was a lecherous old man who was quite filthy and persuasive. She was pleased though when it had a happy ending and the lady fell in love with him.

'Dearest?' Olerydes began to take off Phe's shoes and stockings. 'I know this is a little discourteous but we all wonder. Do you find _Ada_...comely? It is just that when he spoke to you earlier you went redder than a Carp!'

Phe went bright red now. She tried to hide it by looking down but Olerydes just laughed at her discomfort. She patted Phe's foot reassuringly.

'You do not need to answer me. Your face says enough. Why did you oppose the match so strongly then?'

'I did not know Thranduil then,' she said. 'But it hardly matters. He does not want me in any case.'

Olerydes nodded. She did not want to admit that she had overheard Phe's conversation with her Father.

'He did not refuse you because of _you_. He refused because your Father tried to trick him for lands! Father holds his power by being clever and by being strong. Caduven offended him because he tried to make a fool of him! I think _Ada_ likes you really.'

Phe tried to school her face and not smile but it was hard when she felt his Thranduil's acceptance meant so much.

**000**

The dinner was sumptuous. It spilled from the serving bowls like a cornucopia of her favourites. Olerydes and Lilia helped her to sit and exhausted though she was even from the short walk, Phe managed to lift her own cup and cut her own food. It was such an improvement that she was elated. Thranduil had left his Autumn overcoat on and a split up the front of his overcoat revealed dark grey leggings so tight that Phe could see the muscles in his legs. He sat with one thigh folded over the other and it made her feel weak and fluttery. Her body awoke in ways not used since Rosdaer. She could not stop herself from smiling and Thranduil was grateful to find her so.

_There it is again, the smile that takes the breath from me!_

'_Hir vuin_,' she said happily. 'I had almost forgotten what a proper meal around the table feels like!'

Thranduil offered her a smile and said; 'You are in pain, my lady. I can see it in your face.'

'Yes,' she smiled anyway. 'It does hurt. But it hurts when I lay still, when I sit, when I walk. I am happy to be distracted from it.'

'Then I will do my best to distract you,' he gave her another of those warm smiles that Phe was coming to recognise as hers and hers alone. They made her feel warm inside and fed the hunger in her heart for more of his affection.

'My lord. Your family has shown me such care and attention since my fall. Olerydes has become my strength. You have all given me much more than I can return.'

Thranduil gestured to his aide to fill their cups.

'I am...interested...in your proposal,' he said softly.

Phe's heart began to thump. 'Yes, my lord? What would you ask of me?'

Thranduil sipped his wine and sat back to contemplate her beauty. Then his smile faded slowly and he shrugged. Phe thought he looked a little sad.

'_Nothing, _my lady_._ I want nothing from you.'

Phe's heart stopped beating. She could not look him in the eye. She stared at her plate instead.

_I have surely failed, _she thought._ He looks as if he is about to take revenge on me for my cheek!_

'I...do not understand,' she whispered.

Thranduil put down his fork with a clink.

'How can you make a deal with a man who wants nothing from you, I wonder?' he asked.

Phe blushed so hot that it was uncomfortable. 'I do not under-' she started.

'I _know_ you do not understand!' he raised his voice and Phe flinched back, afraid.

Thranduil rose slowly and spoke; 'You underestimate me,_ hiril vuin_. I do not make deals for my favours. I do not take kindly to the fawning gentility who come to my presence only to flatter me with their compliments, their gifts, their sense of humour, their beauty, their _tits_ on show! I would surely grow sick of the sight of them if I did not have the power to send them away!'

Phe wanted to shrink. He came towards her with the soft rustle of silk.

'Do not deal with me!' He bent low. 'I am beyond trading for my pleasure. I have grown sick of all my friends. I have replaced my aides ten times over to escape their worship! My children are my last pleasure, my only pleasure. They speak only truth to me. Those who cannot do this, I have no use for!'

Phe could not muster up words or a voice, she was too afraid of his anger. Then Thranduil grasped her chin in his hand gently and tilted her head up until she could not avoid his burning eyes. She wanted to cry, being so unable to escape him.

'_Look_ at me,' he insisted, hotly. 'Look into my eyes when I speak to you! It is a tendency I do not like, the way you gaze at my boots and not my face.'

When Phe was at a loss for words, he gave another of those shrugs and his eyes narrowed.

'Do you think it is respectful to look away from a King? It is respectful to show him the truth in your eyes!'

'You will have it, my lord,' she whispered. She was too afraid of his wrath to deny him. A pair of hot tears ran from her eyes and one splashed onto his met his gaze. She was surprised to see laughter in their depths as well as anger. Mercifully he straightened and took a step back. Phe gazed into his face and found his expression pensive and curious, but no longer angry. He spread his hands.

'You are weeping, you see? I am accustomed to speaking my mind. If you will not tell me when I must stop then I have no use for you at all.'

'How can I tell you when to stop!' she whispered, her voice thick with tears. 'You are the _King_. You tell me when you _wish_ to stop!'

Thranduil's skin flushed cold.

_So you were right, Iellig. She believes I am self centered and cruel, that I wish only my pleasure over hers. She thinks of me as nothing but a King she must obey. This will **not** do. How can I care for her if she is nothing but a doormat to my will?_

'Then think of me differently,' he bent again to look at her. Phe swallowed hard, nervous and quite aroused. 'Think of me as a friend perhaps,' then he smiled. Phe felt it was a real smile. 'I will take nothing from you because there is nothing you would trade me that I want.'

Phe felt as if her heart was broken. Her tears rose thick and fast to shame her. Horrified and embarrassed, Phe hid her face swiftly behind her napkin. She tried very hard not so sob.

'Why do you weep?' he finally said.

'A weak heart,' she choked, by way of explanation.

Thranduil's brows knitted together.

'I am not trying to hurt it,' he said softly, as if she had misunderstood him but Phe could not see how. She saw only pain and rejection.

'Thandir,' he summoned his aide. 'Have her taken back to her chambers. Let her dinner be served there.'

**000**

Phe was curled up on the chaise when Olerydes came back from her dinner with Lilia and Legolas. The older girl lit a lamp which bought some warmth and life back to the room and then she sat gently down and put her hand on Phe's shoulder.

'Leave me be, I cannot talk about it!' Phe sobbed, and Olerydes sighed through her nose.

'Then do not talk,' she said softly. 'I will just sit here and wait until you run out of tears.'

'It will be a long time.'

'Then I will bring you a bucket. The fountains _do_ need replenishing.'

Phe sniffed and cast a glance at her.

'You are funny,' she conceded. Phe grabbed her hand then and held it.

'What is wrong, dearest? I hate to see you cry.'

Phe shook her head and dragged a pillow closer to bury her face in it. Olerydes smoothed her hair with her free hand.

'Did _Ada_...hurt you?' Olerydes asked delicately.

'No! No. He did not touch me, not like_ that_. I thought he might, once. I thought perhaps he desired me secretly and if I offered him my body he might forgive my Father. But it is clear that he does not want me. And I do not blame him. He says I have nothing to trade that he wants!'

Phe had thought she could repeat it without crying but she was wrong. She burst into fresh tears that hurt her heart and hid her face from Olerydes in shame.

'Oh,' Olerydes made a face. 'That business with the deal. Yes. I wish I had heard it beforehand. We might have improved it. He does not take kindly to that sort of thing. He considers it insulting, you see. My father has not held power so long by being an idiot,' she smiled, then she realised what she had said. 'I do not mean _you_ are, dearest. Just that he is difficult to bribe. I know people do not always see it but my Father has his own sort of honour! He is a King, after all. Integrity matters to him!'

Olerydes sighed, 'In truth I think he has grown tired of all falseness. There is a lot of falseness around the court nowadays. He would rather spend his time with those who are real, like his children. Perhaps he is just getting old and grumpy.'

Phe sniffed.

'He frightens me so. He was so angry! I thought he was going to do me a harm-'

Olerydes shook her head quickly in defense of her Father.

'No, he is not like that. He is a proud, fierce man though. He did not punish you for confessing about your Father. If he had found you less than innocent he might have done. What where you trying to gain from him, Phe? Or was it honesty that lead you to speak to him so plainly?'

'I cannot play this game!' Phe wept. 'I am _not_ my Father. I cannot hint and wheedle and obtain what I want by cleverness. I do not think I am clever enough!'

'So it was both,' Olerydes surmised. 'If you wish his affections you must be yourself with him! Do not try to buy his favour or make him like you. In truth I think he finds you quite intriguing and I can see why. You are very innocent, Phe. I am not insulting you,' Olerydes smiled. 'I think you are too naive for Sindaroth but perhaps that is why he persists with you. Perhaps he sees potential. If he did not, he would send Legolas or I to deal with you. He has certainly _done_ that before, when it is someone he does not like.'

Phe turned her head to gaze at Olerydes.

'He would certainly not spare the time to take dinner with you,' she observed.

Phe tried to smile but privately she thought that she did not want dinner with him again. Indeed she wanted to avoid him completely.

'Do you...love him?' Olerydes asked suddenly. 'Is that why you cry so hard when he shouts at you?'

'No!' Phe denied it quickly. Phe gazed into her dark eyes. 'My heart still belongs to Rosdaer.'

Olerydes nodded.

'Mine to Ronir. I think I may see if _Ada_ will bring him back.'

Phe put her face back in the pillow.

'I almost wish Thranduil had accepted me,' she said softly. 'My future is so uncertain and it is all because of my Father's scheming.'

Olerydes gazed out of the high window.

'Your heart is tender for him, dearest. His is probably the same. I know he likes you really.'

'How do you know?'

'He still speaks to you. That alone is favour in his eyes.'

Phe bunched her hand in the pillow and sniffed.

'Even if I _could_ love him. Even if he cared for me...I could not bear to. It would be wrong,' Phe whispered. 'After Rosdaer.'

Olerydes chewed her lip. She wanted to say that a hundred years was a long time but she was reluctant to upset Phe further.

**000**

Thranduil crept into Leesha's bedroom when it was time to wake her. He pulled the thick drapes back and turned to her bed. A square pillow lay under her covers and she was nowhere to be seen. The first that Phe heard of this was Olerydes arrival after breakfast. She came in to draw Phe's curtains looking pale and vexed.

'What is wrong?' Phe caught her hand, concerned.

'Leesha is missing,' Olerydes bent down to help Phe sit up. '_Ada _went in to wake her and she had stuffed a pillow into her bed and run off in the night.'

Olerydes went to the window.

'They are searching the caverns now but _I_ fear she is gone into the forest. I think she means to return to her homeland. It is so dangerous in there,' Olerydes chewed her thumbnail.

Shortly after that the horses were assembled at speed. Phe went to the window to watch. Legolas leaped into the saddle and turned his horse to speak to his Father. Thranduil threw his overcoat to an aide and mounted the white horse he favoured. Then the boy Thandir came galloping down the long path on his brown gelding. His cheeks were flushed and he was scatty and panicked but nobody made any mention of it because the more eyes they had the better.

A few minutes later, Anion crept into their room. He ran to Olerydes and threw himself into her embrace.

'What is wrong, Anion!' she smoothed his hair and smiled to Phe over the top of his head.

_He is a sensitive boy, _she thought._ Battle might ruin him, if ever he has the misfortune to fight in one._

'He will not let me go with them!' The boy sobbed. Olerydes hid her smile in his hair. He smelled of the woods. It made her miss her walks and vow to return to them soon.

'You can help search the caverns,' she looked at him. 'Go on, go! They have need of you, I am sure.'

Anion clearly had not thought of that. A moment later he was gone too. Phe chuckled.

'He is a sweet boy,' she said.

Phe's smile faded. She gazed at the distant Greenwood and feared for the girl's safety. Thranduil rode over the bridge with the patrol. Suddenly she feared for his, too.

**000**

Legolas found the tracks first. Little footprints in the dirt and snow. He drew his horse abruptly to a halt. Thranduil came up beside him. His hair was wild and damp. He was afraid and angry and aching in the cold. Together they followed the tracks to where they disappeared into a single line.

'She has been dragged!' Legolas breathed.

'No-' Thranduil hissed._ 'Leesha!'_ Thranduil cried to the cold wind, his voice echoing through the forest and disturbing distant webs. There was no answer.

'Leesha!' Legolas joined him. He turned his horse to follow the direction of the tracks.

Thranduil's horse skidded on a patch of ice and nearly lost his footing. They drew into a clearing where a great cave mouth yawned from the rock face. The tracks descended into the cavern. Thranduil slid off his horse. Fear trickled down his back and suddenly his strength seemed so little against what was to come.

'Leesha!' he called into the dark, but there was still no answer.

'_Ada_,' Legolas left his horse and came forward with a torch. Inside, the rocks were spun with mithril strands of silver web. Thranduil's heart stopped. All blood drained from his face.

'_Ungol_,' he almost groaned.

_She is so small and they are strong and fast. Why did I leave her alone, even to sleep!_

'If she lives we must find her-' Thranduil said.

Legolas grabbed his arm and Thranduil caught his gaze.

'She lives!' Legolas insisted. 'We go inside.'

Thranduil followed his son into the hot, close dark where there was barely the room to swing his sword. He felt the webs caress his face and neck and tangle in his hair. His hands were steady but his heart fluttered wildly. His skin went cold and clammy with fear when he thought of what he might find, buried here in this rocky tomb.

He could not bear the thought of her lifeless body and he cursed himself thrice over for ever leaving her unattended.

_From now on I will be your shadow, _he vowed._ Until you can fight and kill these foul beasts yourself.  
_

Thranduil nearly stumbled on an outcropping of rock that jutted like a thick pencil from the floor. The sharp edge tore through his boot and sliced his skin. He caught himself, angry.

_This is a nest_. _Only a nest would be so warm!_

Deeper he went with Legolas silent and present beside him, down into the crushing dark where there was no light except their torch. It burned lower and lower and finally guttered out. Thranduil felt a terrible panic rising, for the last time he had been in such a hot dark place, he had been burned by a dragon. He fought with memory and commanded it to die and to leave him be. He held his breath in check even as his lungs burned for air and mercifully, gained control of his terror before it could overwhelm him.

_How close the dark is, I can hear them scuttling, their awful movements in the deep. They will sting her and poison her, then eat her alive. Give her back to me. Give her back I beg you and __I will pray to you five times a day! Mother have mercy. Father watch over my family and keep them safe when I cannot.  
_

He had not prayed in decades. He repeated it as he stepped through a stinging puddle that hurt his foot. He winced but he was used to this sort of pain. It was the pain in his heart that hurt the most. This terrible dread that she was already dead. He felt as if he was walking a fine line above the pit, waiting to fall to grief.

Then something brushed Thranduil's face and he was grabbed and pinned against a wall. Sharp rock sliced into his shoulders. He felt the rush of air as the jaws closed around his skull but then the thing screeched and fell back. It died with a blade in its skull. Legolas hauled his Father upright. They waited, tense and silent, huddled together. Legolas' body was warm against his.

'_Ada_-' he breathed.

'I am not hurt,' Thranduil whispered. He found his sons arm in the dark. Warm and solid. _My strength._

The second blow hit Thranduil in the belly, so low he was sure the spider had been aiming for his privates. He was glad it had missed. This time he was ready. Whatever part of it he cut off with his blade fell onto the floor with a thud. The spider screeched and brushed their boots as it squirmed and died. He climbed over it, almost stabbing himself on the stinger.

_Our lives hang by a thread of their silk_. _Here in this dank, dark place between the world of elves and the worlds of darkness._

His face was covered in web. His foot had gone dead of blood. Then a scream echoed in the depths and Thranduil found his courage, which had been hiding behind his heart. He ran towards it, his breath loud and irregular in his ears.

_So dark I cannot see my feet. If I trip they might take me._ _Mother have mercy. Father watch over my family and keep them safe when I cannot. _

'_Ada_!' Legolas hissed urgently, but Thranduil was feeling his way around a smooth wall. He found the tunnel that had been dug into it and pushed through thick webs and bones and trod over a stinking carcass. Here in the dark where his eyes did not work, he let the power of sight fade away and suddenly colours flared all around him. Colours of spiders, the colours of prey. The gossamer hint of web and the burst of pink and blue and black grief that was Leesha.

_The **lights**! Oh, thank the Valar!_

Thranduil ducked under a spiders legs and it felt nothing but his air as he passed. As he went he slit open its soft underbelly and it sprawled, screeching on the ground. His face twisted in disgust as he stuck another through its abdomen and cut off its stinger. Legolas emerged from the tunnel behind him. He glowed like a young leaf. He trod and felt his way over the spiders fearlessly.

_How brave you are to come in here with me. My treasure, you are almost ready, and I am too. For the sea. For my escape._

Thranduil found Leesha with his fingertips. His hands trembled. She was ice cold and damp. A sob rose up his throat. Legolas put his hands on his Father's shoulders. Thranduil tugged her free of the webs and she spilled, limp but whole, into his arms.

'She is alive,' Thranduil whispered as he wrapped her around his body and hugged her head to his chest.

Legolas felt for her pulse but there was nothing. He did not dare to say what he knew.

Thranduil ducked into the tunnel through which they had come and backtracked along the glowing gaps, where the webs had been parted by their intrusion. Legolas followed behind. Every so often he would turn to slash or slice or shoot and every time the spiders fell, until the light bloomed up ahead and blinded Thranduil. He emerged shaking and damp to lay her on the grass. She was green and very pale. Her blue eyes were still open and her hair was matted with cobwebs.

Legolas sank, his quiver spent, to kneel beside his Father. _So it is over then. She is dead.  
_

'She is alive!' Thranduil said again, as guards came from between the trees to gaze at him in pity.

'_Ada_-' Legolas tried to get through, but his Father was not seeing him, or the guards, or any other thing except Leesha.

'_Ada...their stings_!' Legolas exclaimed suddenly. Thranduil turned to look at him, his face wet with tears and his hair a tangled mess of web and slime.

'Only stung,' he breathed. Legolas grabbed Leesha and picked her up. He whistled to his horse. 'A healer might reverse it!'

**000**

Phe clapped a hand over her mouth as Legolas pushed the door open. She had been sitting on a bench resting while Olerydes and Lilia helped to search the caverns. Now the whole family rushed with Legolas into Thranduil's study. Phe went too. She had seen the corpse in Legolas' arms. He laid Leesha flat on the Kings desk and stood back. Behind him came Olerydes. She caught Legolas by the arms.

'What has happened?' she breathed.

Legolas' eyes were full of tears.

'Stung,' he said and he clapped a hand over his mouth to hide his tears.

Phe could see Thranduil's hands were shaking. He threw down his sword with a clatter and laid his hands reverently on Leesha's feet. His shirt was torn and bloodied at the back and his boot was torn through. It was trailing yellow slime and blood. Then Olerydes came back to herself and she pushed past Phe to touch the girl's cold, white face.

'She cannot be-' Phe began to cry, but Legolas turned to her with such fury in his eyes that she stopped.

'Do _not,' _he said coldly.

'Forgive me,' she whispered.

Olerydes laid both hands on Leesha's head, her fingertips working into her hair. Then she closed her eyes and Phe stared at her in shock.

_It cannot be. She is clearly dead already. I do not understand why she would them such hope!_

The silence stretched. Phe felt like weeping for Thranduil, who had put his forehead on his arm in despair. Then Leesha convulsed. Then suddenly she began to breathe. Her chest rose and fell erratically for a minute then settled into a steady rhythm. Olerydes' frown deepened as she slid her fingertips to the girl's temples. Nothing happened. Then suddenly life came back to Leesha's open eyes and she startled and scrambled away, her eyes wide and haunted.

Thranduil grabbed Leesha and gathered her into his arms fiercely.

'_Iellig_,' he choked as he rocked her. Leesha found his matted hair with her little hands and finally she stopped panting like an animal caught in a trap and began to sob.

Olerydes slid into the nearest chair and clutched her head. Legolas made for her and grabbed her before she could sag uncomfortably.

Phe stared. She had never seen a healer bring back a soul.

_I would never have guessed you were so gifted_, she thought. Olerydes had gone very pale. Legolas wrapped his arms around her until she patted his hand and assured him that she was well enough, now. Only then did he release her, but he kept hold of her hand.

Phe sank slowly to sit on the chaise. Thranduil buried his face in Leesha's thick, curly hair. Phe could tell he was crying because his body shook and pity rose up her gullet.

_So you **do** love,_ she thought. _You do need. I had taken you to be cold, calculating. I wish that I had someone who would cry for me as you cry for her, were I taken by Ungol. _

**000**

Leesha would not let go of her _Ada_. Thranduil was happy to have her close. She lay quietly on his chest while Olerydes stitched the wound in his foot closed. Her shallow breathing hinted at a sickness coming on. Only when Thranduil had ensured Leesha was resting did he raise his eyes to gaze at Phe. For long seconds she held it, saying nothing. Then Thranduil rose with the girl in his arms. Leesha wrapped her arms around him and did not want to be left behind.

Thranduil carried her silently from the room and down the old, secret steps. When he reached the bottom he took her to the hot pools and sat her gently on the side while he shed his shirt and the ruined leggings that had been to hell and back. His shoulders hurt where his hair tickled the cuts. He slid into the water and turned to peel off Leesha's sticky, dirty clothes. He bent his head to smile gently. Leesha did not smile and she did not seem to see him but she held out her hands for him to lift her in. She was tall for her age and sometimes she seemed so precocious. Thranduil sometimes forgot that she was only four.

Her skin was still cold. Thranduil took her in his arms and lifted her into the warm water. He held her in a gentle cuddle with one hand under her knees and her body curled against his chest. She put her head on his shoulder and hid in his hair. Hers got wet and the curls fell out of it, but so did the webs.

She wriggled only to make herself more comfortable. He shifted his grasp on her until she was sitting on his forearm.

_Mine,_ he thought silently, _you are mine now and I am going to weed this wild tendency out of you somehow. _

He kissed the top of her head and remembered that he had done this with Legolas too, and Olerydes. From their first days on the Earth they had been close to their Father. He had been there for their bad dreams, for their successes, for all their growing up. Leesha began to cry, quietly. She trembled in his arms and still did not say a word. Only when she was later sitting on the side of the pool in a thick, white towel, her skinny legs curled under her, did she finally say '_Ada_.'

Thranduil pulled himself out of the pool and sat on the side. Leesha played with a root and then threw a leaf into the pool and watched it dance on the ripples from his exit. He squeezed the water from his hair and turned to gaze at her.

'Where is Gwenthel?' he asked her then. 'Did you lose her again, sweetling?'

Leesha nodded, and she scooted closer to put her fast drying head against his ribs, and curled up beside him. Thranduil picked her up and stood. He sat her on a table to put her fresh clothes on.

'We will find her,' he smiled.

Leesha shook her head.

'No? Was she in the cave?'

A nod.

Thranduil put a robe on and pulled it closed. He felt unusually cold despite the natural warmth in the bath house. Leesha shivered and tried to get closer to him for his warmth. He took her back upstairs to bed and tucked her in but before she could fall asleep she went pale and grew hot. Thranduil brushed the back of his fingers over her forehead. She was so warm that he could feel it an inch from her skin. He made to call a healer, and realised he was burning too.

His stomach rolled over and he was sure he was going to be sick. His foot hurt as if it was being burned. Suddenly his every bone felt too big for its space. His back began to ache and he realised whatever had found its way inside them had come from the spiders cave. A few minutes later he started to tremble. Before the night was out he had been in and out of the privy some twenty times, his stomach rejecting all food and water.

He returned to his bed feeling hollow, achy and sick and found Olerydes holding Leesha against her side and whispering softly to her. He collapsed onto the thick furs and rolled over, content to let his daughter take care of Leesha for a while. He woke to be sick again. When at last he got to sleep it was very late and he was drained and weak.

When at last the dawn came he found Duven, the chief healer sitting beside his bed.

'Lie back, my lord,' he instructed.

'Where is Leesha?'

'She is well enough,' he said. 'Easy, my lord. It has been a rough night. Olerydes has taken her for some breakfast.'

Duven gave him water and told him to rest but Thranduil did not want to be confined to his bed like an invalid. He rose stiffly as soon as the man left the room. Still queasy he found his way out into the cool morning air. _At least_ _my foot is only aching now, not burning_.

It had been weeping in the night. It was swollen and painful but he could put weight on it well enough.

He had Thandir change the sheets and fetch him fresh clothes then he went for a bath. When he had changed and eaten a little, he went to work. He had been listening to a petition for extra land for some twenty minutes when his stomach rolled over again and he found himself rushing to the privy. After a few minutes, Legolas knocked on the door and Thranduil sensed he was leaning on the frame outside, his arms folded. It happened to be true. It was a pose the boy favoured.

'You should listen to Duven,' Legolas informed him. 'Go back to bed before you make yourself sicker.'

'And who will deal with all this nonsense?' Thranduil had seated himself on the privy floor. His belly ached and he felt weak and sickly.

Legolas paused.

'I will do it. Go back to bed. I will send Duven up to see to you.'

'Spare me, I dislike doctors!' Thranduil sighed.

Legolas pushed the door and found his Father pale and sweaty. Legolas offered him his hand and pulled Thranduil to his feet. He had forgotten how heavy his Father was.

'Then Olerydes can come.'

Thranduil sighed through his nose. Then he plucked the crown off his head and handed it to his son. Legolas slipped it on.

'Now I am Regent and I can tell you what to do. Go back to bed, _Ada_.'

Thranduil laughed at him.

'My boy, you will _never_ be able to command me,' Thranduil walked past him on his way to the door.

He sensed Legolas was amused but he said no more. He felt very ill and his bed was calling.

**000**

Olerydes waited outside her Father's chambers with Phe, who was holding the book that Thranduil had given her. Olerydes almost pitied her but she felt that this was entirely necessary.

'Come!' called the King. Olerydes gave Phe a reassuring pat before she pushed her into the room and shut the door. Olerydes listened at the keyhole. For a good minute there was silence, and then;

'_Hiril vuin_. I did not expect to find you in my chambers.'

'I did not expect to be here, my lord.'

Phe was very worried about what Legolas and Olerydes might do if she refused to take part in this mad plan.

'Indeed, I would not be had your children not forced my hand.'

Thranduil was propped up in bed with a book on his lap.

_He seems surprised to see me and I am surprised that I let them do this to me! Still he is entertaining me gracefully enough._

'I see. That is certainly a description that I recognise. Pray tell, in what sense have they forced you?'

'Well,' Phe fidgeted. 'Actually they threatened me. They said if I did not come to make peace with you that they would wait until I bathe and then steal all my clothes and hang them in a tree. Their suggestion is that I climb to retrieve them. I do not think I would like that.'

Thranduil smiled.

'They are a meddlesome bunch. I suppose they intend for you to read to me as if I am incapable of holding my own book?'

'It was mentioned, _hir vuin_, yes.'

His chamber was a rich, beautiful space with a bed big enough for three and a set of very imposing wardrobes. There was a full length mirror too, which hardly surprised Phe. She fidgeted. Thranduil set down his book on the exquisite bedside table and smiled softly.

'I have grown so weary of their interference. Do you think they have gotten a wrong impression, my lady? They seem to think you want to spend time with me. I cannot imagine where that idea came from?'

'I believe, my lord, that you made it clear we have nothing to offer each other. But if it pleases you I will read to you, because you are my King.'

Thranduil folded his arms over his chest. His lips thinned in displeasure.

'Mmmm. I said there is nothing you can trade that I want. _Hiril vuin._ That only means that I do not wish to _trade_ with you.'

Phe stared at the dark parquet floor and realised he was right. Suddenly it did not hurt so much. She wondered if perhaps in her anguish she had misread him.

'Well...I-' she started, then she checked his face and found him smirking. She edged toward the door and was very disappointed when he stopped her.

'You need not flee me like a frightened rabbit,' he sighed. 'I am not going to bite you.'

'Yes, my lord,' she said obediently.

Thranduil threw his hands up in despair.

'_Yes, my lord. No, my lord_,' he mimicked her. 'By the Valar! I cannot get through to you!'

Phe shook her head quizzically. The King gestured to her book.

'I do not-' she started.

'_Understand._ Yes, I _know_. I can see that by your face.'

Phe's lip began to tremble. She struggled to control her expression.

'Do _not!_' he warned her. 'My lady. Spare me yet _more_ tears. I have seen quite enough of those. Why can you not be at ease? It is as if you expect me to order your death by beheading now, this night.'

Phe threw her hands up in despair.

'What do you want from me?' she finally whispered. 'One minute you are angry with me and the next you act as if you wish to be my friend!'

'I do not want another courtier,' he said plainly. 'Or for Caduven to send his daughter to make an alliance with me. Or to be subjected to any more games!'

Phe turned away from him.

'I am not doing that,' she breathed. 'I am just trying to survive.'

'Survive?' he laughed. Then his amusement faded and he swung his legs off the bed and approached her slowly. Phe spun to look at him. Her eyes were wide in the dim light. She gazed at his lips a little longer than was necessary. Her attention threatened to tighten his sleeping leggings and embarrass them both. 'You are trying to survive Sindaroth? Or her King?' He asked.

'Both,' Phe whispered.

'You are a sweet, dim girl,' he finally shook his head. 'I have bought you closer than all the others. We have invited you into our family and still you talk of trying to survive me as if I am your enemy! If you fear for your safety look to the women of the court. Already they have tried to sully your name with rumour. Some have even whispered in my ear that you take lovers from amonsgt the stable boys!'

Phe gazed at him aghast. Then suddenly she was weeping. 'That is not true!' she finally managed to choke venomously. 'I have done no such! I have taken noone to my bed since my husband, and nor will I! Those rotten leeches!'

The King laughed. 'Women can be cruel. Men sharpen swords and women sharpen words.'

Phe turned for the door but the King started forward and caught her hand. Phe turned to gaze into his face and found him calm and peaceful. She did not dare tug her hand free.

'I feel you favour me, my lord,' she asked bravely. 'I would ask you why?'

Thranduil did not release her hand. She was warm, soft and very small.

_Now I have you where I have dreamed and it is thanks to my meddling offpsring. I have changed my mind. I thank them! You are so close to my bed. If I thought there was the smallest chance of a kiss I would do more than simply hold your hand, my lady!_

'I do,' he nodded. 'You are honest and pure.'

Phe felt her tears dry and she stopped trying to worm free of his grasp and stood still and silent. Thranduil's eyes were warm and soft. She smiled without meaning to and carefully Thranduil returned that smile. His posture relaxed. He took a slow step towards her. Gently, he seized her chin in his hand. She found his skin soft and his palms a little rougher than she had expected. They were a warriors hands and how that aroused her! He drew her head up until her gaze met his.

'True innocence is so rare at court,' he murmured, as his expression lost its edge and professional veneer. It became amorous. Phe's breath came short and quick and she felt unaccountably dizzy.

'I am no innocent, _hir vuin!_' she protested weakly.

Phe could feel his warmth across the gap between their bodies. His touch made it impossible to reason.

'You are _completely_ innocent,' he breathed. Then he whispered close to her lips; 'how I _covet_ innocence as I covet _starlight_!'

Thranduil cupped her face and gazed hungrily at her lips as she tilted her head, helplessly distracted by the warmth of his hand and the proximity of his body. Her eyes fluttered closed in pleasure as he rubbed her neck and so he bent his head and kissed her softly. She was so soft and warm.

_Such a guilty pleasure! Haliel, forgive me. I am lonely and she is warm!  
_

_S_he sighed softly against his cheek and leaned her body closer. He wanted so to enclose her in his arms. How close he was to claiming what he had wanted since she arrived. Phe moved her hands to his shirt and Thranduil employed a second hand on her opposite cheek. He parted her lips with his curious tongue. He found her warm and willing, shy and sweet. Phe tried to ignore the heat growing in her belly. Her heart strings sang a sad note, a tone of grief and terrible guilt for Rosdaer's memory.

She pulled away before her own desire could lead them even deeper. She could not quite bear to wrench herself from the warmth of his hands. Thranduil's eyes were full of more than mere desire but Phe closed hers quickly to avoid the telling and dropped her gaze to his chest.

'I cannot,' she whispered as she finally pulled away. 'I cannot! _Goheno nin, hir vuin!_'

Phe felt his gaze on her as she left. With every step she wanted to turn around and go back. Thranduil sank slowly to sit on his bed and bunched his hand in the bedspread. How his foot hurt and now his foolish heart did too.

_Do not deny me,_ he prayed silently._ I am ill equipped to deal with your rejection. Perhaps you only need patience but I feel as if I have been removed of my heart already. Where is my wife? Where is the beauty I married! Why have I been left all alone to pine for a woman who does not care for me?  
_

**000**

Thranduil was gazing again into the _Ungol_ tank, recently risen from his sickbed. It was almost dusk and he had been resting all day.

_I will not sleep properly now, _he grumbled to himself._  
_

The little beast had made itself a thick web at the bottom. It was resting with its two front legs just visible in the funnel. A knock at the door surprised him.

'Come!' he called.

Tauriel pushed the door and strode in. She bowed to him.

'You have a report for me? At this hour? Go on, then.'

'Yes, my lord. We have found a tunnel.'

'What do you mean?' Thranduil turned.

'Come, my lord,' Tauriel turned. 'It is easier if you see it.'

Thranduil followed his captain of the guard. As she lead him briskly down a level and into the caverns deeper, older places. He saw that torches had been set up in a ring. Strewn about on the floor were three dead _Ungol_, no bigger than his prisoner.

'This is how they have been gaining access,' Tauriel gestured to the tunnel, which seemed to have happened as the result of a natural rockfall. 'There must have been a gap in the rock, perhaps it was natural gas,' she shrugged. 'If it vented the pressure may have changed. The rock has slid down to make this opening.'

Thranduil bent low to look._  
_

'Where did you find those,' he pointed to the dead spiders.

'Inside.'

'How far does it go, Tauriel? Have you been inside?'

'I cannot get far, my lord. It is wide enough for a few hundred feet and then there is a collapse in the rockface, it narrows to the size of a child and then opens out again. I assume only the smallest _Ungol _have managed to access it.'

Thranduil's lips tilted into a small smile. He stood and nodded to her.

'Have the mages send a firesurge into the tunnel and then block it. I want this room sealed and barred until we are certain no more of these are going to open. A watch, around this area, Tauriel,' he said. Then he added. 'You have done well. See to it.'

She bowed. Thranduil caught her smile. He turned on his heel and left her to organise his orders.

**000**

Olerydes helped Phe downstairs late one afternoon, to visit the pool where they had swum together. They closed the door softly and with a smile Olerydes helped Phe to sit. She pulled off Phe's stockings and helped her out of her clothes. Phe gave a soft, happy sigh as she sank into the water. It was warmer than she remembered. She leaned against the side of the pool and put her head back. Olerydes rolled up a towel for her and put it there as a pillow, then slid in beside her.

'How long it has been since I had a proper bath!' Phe smiled happily. Olerydes looked down to where a big Carp was making its slow approach. Its back was patterned with red and gold and it was sleek and beautiful. It bumped Olerydes thigh gently, then swished its soft tail against her leg. It came to investigate her bump. Olerydes gazed at it.

'He knows,' she said softly, and she dropped her hand to touch the fishes cool, slimy skin. It diverted away. With a single glance up at her, it dove into the deep, never to be seen again. Phe smiled at her friend.

'You must teach me how to earn their friendship,' Phe said.

She was about to say more when a dark blotch caught her eye. She gazed into the foliage and there, sitting above the pool, was an _Ungol_ the size of a hunting dog. Its silvery sting was long and sharp. It made its way on delicate feet down the bank, stepping over leaves. Phe froze, unaccountably terrified. How could she run so injured?

Olerydes had gasped at first but now she reached slowly for the blade she had taken off her leg with her clothes. She pushed the sheath off the knife and bought it close to her chest. She held an arm over Phe's collarbones.

'Not a move,' Olerydes whispered.

The spider found the grass with its front legs and went walking softly over the green. It turned suddenly. At once Phe felt its awareness, bright and hot and hungry. Her mind went right away to Olerydes' baby, which would surely not survive a sting. Her eyes traveled down to where it was just beginning to show as a little bump. It hurt so much to move, and it was hard to go far without Olerydes' help. Phe knew she would be no use defending them, and no use fleeing either. She felt helpless.

Then it surged. It came so fast that Phe could not believe its speed. She screamed involuntarily. She must have startled Olerydes because the older girl missed the first stab and with a splash she hauled Phe away from the side of the pool and into deeper water. Olerydes was taller than Phe and her feet were still in the soft ground, whereas Phe was forced to float and kick ineffectually. She found weightlessness far less painful but still, her range of movement was not enough for swimming yet.

The _Ungol_ hissed and began to dabble its forelegs in the water tentatively. Then Phe yelled a curse as it began to sink into the lake, long legs paddling awfully. Olerydes backed away, her feet slipping, the water growing deeper.

Just when she was sure she would have to swim with Phe to escape it, the door to the cavern was thrown open and Legolas burst in with his bow in his hand. Close behind him came the King, his sword drawn. Olerydes seemed far more shameless than Phe could ever imagine being. Indeed the older girl did not even try to cover herself. When Legolas drew an arrow, Olerydes did not even flinch or consider that he might miss.

Phe covered herself as Legolas sprinted up a rock and skidded to a halt on the tip. His arrow made a soft noise as it hit the _Ungol_ dead in the center. It seized and twitched horribly. Phe jerked away from its flailing legs but Olerydes held onto her tightly and just pushed it away fearlessly. It floated toward the opposite bank.

'When will we be free of these things!' Olerydes exclaimed, grabbing her gown angrily from the side and climbing out to put it on.

Neither Legolas nor Thranduil seemed concerned by her nudity. She reached for Phe.

'No, I cannot-' Phe whispered.

The King caught her gaze and a tiny smile appeared on his lips. The blush spread down her throat and shamed her. The King turned his back quickly and Legolas joined him. Thranduil chanced a glance at his son and found he was blushing furiously. Thranduil said;

'Get dressed. There may be more. I will send a patrol to clear this room. Legolas, stay with them,' he said, and sheathed his sword. He was gone a moment later with no backward glance.

Olerydes was quiet for a minute. Then she said; 'It is you that makes him blush dearest, he swims naked with me in the hot pools. Legolas is not so bashful really.'

Phe stared at them.

'So does our Father,' she added, as if that might be of interest to Phe.

'I am glad my Father does not do that with me!' Phe finally managed to say.

Olerydes shrugged. 'I have always though it quite normal. At least, until I met you, my blushing friend. _Ada_ has always taught us not to be ashamed. Have you never been to a communal bath?'

'Only with women,' Phe muttered.

Olerydes smiled and nodded. 'Shy then. I bet you would like to try it when _Ada_ is about. He has a beautiful body.'

Phe went crimson. It was so hot that she was sure her hair would catch alight. Legolas made a noise like a helpless puppy and tried not to comment. Olerydes' habit of speaking the plain and honest truth had embarrassed Phe before, but never so much as now.

'I...do not want to...do _that_, with your Father!' she denied it.

'Well I know he wants to do it with you,' Olerydes handed her her gown and helped her into it. 'Did you see how he flushed just now? You can really see it on his fair skin!'

'N-No!' Phe said quickly. 'I did_ not_ see!'

'He did blush,' Legolas conceded with a smile, his back still turned. 'He does not usually blush. Even with women he enjoys.'

'See?' Olerydes smiled. 'Perhaps there is romance afoot.'

'She will catch on fire if you continue,' Legolas smirked.

Phe tried to deny it to herself but still she felt the persisting memory of his kiss. So warm and passionate, so like the first time and Rosdaer had kissed. That had been exciting because it was her first kiss. With Thranduil she blushed anyway. His obvious experience made her feel so new. She wanted more than anything to return to his arms for another, but her heart was guilty and sore and she wondered if Rosdaer would be pleased for her, or if he would feel she had abandoned his memory.

* * *

_A/N - Oh wow, this was fun ;) I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I liked writing it ! Please R&R, it gives me the burning itch to write ;)_

**_Translations_**

_Forgive me/Sorry - Goheno nin_

_My Lady - Hiril Vuin _

_My lord - Hir vuin_

_My son = Ionneg _

_My daughter = Iellig _

_ Curses! = Rhaich!_


	7. For The Dead

**6. For The Dead**

The door to Thranduil's study swung shut with a soft pop behind Legolas. He found his Father rolling up his sleeves beside the spider tank.

'_Ada?_ You sent for me?'

Thranduil reached into a rolled cloth and drew out a pair of tongs. He tested their mechanism and then used them to gesture to the giant funnel web within which the spider was hiding.

'Yes. I require the assistance of a steady pair of hands. You are to hold her for me.'

'The_ Ungol_?'

Thranduil nodded.

Legolas licked his lips a little nervously as Thranduil grasped the spider and bought her screeching and writhing from the tank still covered in her web. She twisted to snap as his hands and stabbed furiously with her stinger. Legolas seized her by her legs and found her flesh fat and spongy. He pressed her down on the table where she could do no harm. His skin prickled with the unpleasantness of hers. She was hairy, strong and flexible enough to almost reach him with her poison. He had the eerie sense that the _Ungol_ was watching him, clever and sly, waiting for a chance to strike when his guard was down. That was a quality he did not like in the animal. He worried that Thranduil was making a mistake. He leaned forward to voice his suspicion;

'You would bind to her. It is dangerous. What if her will is stronger than yours?'

Thranduil shook his head.

'She is no dragon, Legolas.'

Thranduil's mirage wavered like a heat haze about his cheek. Legolas gazed at it. He had only found out by accident, when one day he had walked in on Duven and the King when he was still a boy. Thranduil had hidden his face and shouted at his son to leave. Legolas could still feel how much that had hurt him. Afterwards, Thranduil had come to find him and guilty for his harsh tone he had explained to Legolas that his _Ada_ had been hurt by a fire serpent but still he refused to show his son, or indeed any of his children, the extent of his injury.

'I feel her evil!' Legolas insisted.

'As do I,' Thranduil agreed. 'But this is very important.'

The King found the ridges in the ugly skull beneath her soft, awful flesh and put his fingertips upon them.

'I will be fine, Legolas.'

Thranduil bent down to look into the spiders eyes. His eyelids fluttered closed. For quite a long time, Legolas wondered if he was going to do anything at all and then his face became slack and his eyes moved back and forth as though he were searching for something in the depths of his mind. The _Ungol _redoubled her efforts to be free. Legolas pressed down with all his strength yet still she bucked under his weight. He could feel the pulsing heart of the beast in his hands. He sensed the terrible flow of ill will that coursed through her body. Then Thranduil recoiled with a hiss. He broke free of the spider and clutched his own head as if his very brain had caught on fire.

_'Ada-!' _Legolas cried.

Thranduil opened his eyes. His breath was unsteady, his skin on fire. He could feel the spiders mind as though they were one. Her world was made of warmth and movement. For long, anxious seconds he struggled to acclimatise to the sensations and then before the open bridge could fail and die, he grabbed the spider a second time and forced his own consciousness through the gate and into her mind.

She fell still and calm.

'Never have I felt such power,' the King breathed as he gazed into her eyes again. 'But your power is nothing next to mine. Daeben,' He named the beast. 'You will be mine. You will protect our family. Release her, Legolas.'

_'Ada-_' Legolas shook his head and wet his lips but Thranduil insisted. So Legolas released the _Ungol _and took up his bow. Daeben gathered her strength and stood. Legolas nocked an arrow. He waited with it drawn for the inevitable lunge but the _Ungol_ did not move except to look around as though she was seeing the world for the first time. Legolas shook his head is disbelief.

'It will not last,' he said doubtfully.

Thranduil did not seem to be listening. 'Daeben is for Anion. To end his fear.'

Legolas sighted along the arrow.

'I do not like this,_ Ada_. She is evil, she will not tame. Anion will not want her and I do not want her loose when I am sleeping.'

'He will change his mind,' Thranduil sounded certain. 'She will be in her tank when we sleep.'

Legolas let the bowstring go slack but he knew that he could draw it again more quickly than Daeben could strike.

'If the binding fails?' Legolas asked sensibly.

'It will not fail,' Thranduil stood and Daeben set about cleaning her face with her feeler arms. He took a few steps away and softly said; '_Come_, Daeben.'

Daeben dropped off the table and scuttled towards him with a turn of speed that Legolas found frightening.

_Around the children she will be deadly. What madness is this? Has Ada lost his mind!?_

Daeben put her two front legs on Thranduil's overcoat like a dog begging to be petted. Legolas drew the arrow back but Thranduil waved a hand to pause him.

'No, Legolas. Wait.'

Thranduil bent to touch her. He offered his palm and she came to taste him and memorise his scent. Her feeler arms were quite gentle, he found, and lined with tiny hairs to detect heat and movement. He found her dark and strange to behold and weird to touch, even after the binding, but not so ill-minded now. She was somewhat more interested in that outside her small world of prey and sleep and shelter.

He touched her head again to reinforce the binding. She did not flinch from the presence of his mind in hers. The bridge burned bright and hot and open.

'You will be calm,' he told her. 'And very gentle with Anion. As though he is your own spiderling. Come.'

Legolas followed too, his arrow ready and his eyes upon the_ Ungol_ that ran alongside the King. If his Father had gone mad then surely it was his job to protect him from himself. Thranduil strode through the maze of roots toward the school room and called for Anion. A mere gesture from Thranduil and the spider curled herself up obediently. She waited like that until Anion emerged to see what his Father wanted.

'_Ada_?' Anion started to say, then Thranduil pointed slowly to the curled_ Ungol._

'Come here, Anion,' he instructed, but Anion was white with fear. He backed toward the schoolroom door. Legolas pitied him. Anion looked as if his _Ada_ had just committed the ultimate act of betrayal against him.

Thranduil sank before the boy and Daeben remained tightly curled. Legolas did not take his eyes off her, nor relax his bow far. Though holding it drawn did hurt his shoulder he would not relent until he was certain that the _Ungol_ bore them no ill will.

Thranduil rested on one knee and took Anions shaking hand in his. He smiled reassuringly. He was not surprised to see that the boy was too frightened to smile back.

'_Ada-_' it came out as a whisper, almost a sob. Too quiet and terrified, a plea for escape. Thranduil said softly;

'She is a gift, my boy. She is not dangerous. I have tamed her for you. She will neither bite nor sting. She is to protect you from her own kind. You and Leesha, but you shall have command of her because you are older.'

Anion shook his head wordlessly. Thranduil reached slowly for the boys neck and drew him down to sit upon his bent knee. Slowly he rubbed little circles into Anion's nape. He spoke gentle words until Anion had nearly forgotten the spider behind them and begun to relax into his Father's chest.

'Trust me, my boy,' Thranduil breathed into his ear.

Then slowly he found the spots on Anion's skull and slid his fingers into place. Legolas covered his mouth with his hand. Now he remembered it! Once when he was very young, he had been wary of his Father's horse. So wary that Legolas would hide behind his Mother and refuse to come forward to bid Thranduil goodbye. Legolas could still feel the edges of Thranduil's mind, the warmth of his fingertips, the way he placed his son calmly on his mount and handed him the reins, as if Legolas had never minded horses at all!

Anion became unnaturally still and silent. A few long moments passed and then the King started suddenly and tightened his hold protectively. After a long, tense few seconds he opened his crystalline eyes to gaze into Anions face and smiled warmly.

Anion reached for the Kings face and touched his skin, then his ear as though he was in a daze.

_Lovestruck,_ Legolas realised. _He is as lovestruck as I am for Ada and now it is clear why we feel this way!_

If Anion wondered what had happened to him he did not say so. Suddenly he felt as if Thranduil and only Thranduil really understood him. Then Anion peered over his Fathers shoulder. Slowly he stood to look. Holding Anions waist with both hands, Thranduil spoke as if the boy had never been afraid of a spider in his whole life.

'There is Daeben. She is your little shadow. Go and play with her.'

Legolas hid a gasp as Anion approached the _Ungol_, and Thranduil whispered to her fiercely; _'Love_ him.'

Daeben uncurled her legs and stood slowly. At first she was a little hesitant until Anion crouched to look at her. Then she put her foreleg on his boot and gazed at him curiously. Anion smiled strangely. He felt as if he has known this animal all his life but he could not remember ever playing with her before. He decided it did not matter. He offered his hand and she tasted him delicately. Then he walked away slowly with his _Ungol_ in tow.

Legolas was breathless by the time it was over. He passed by his Father with a glance at his face, pursuing the boy.

'Go, if it pleases you,' said Thranduil, in the fashion of one giving permission for the entirely unnecessary.

For the rest of the day, Legolas followed Anion like a second shadow, his bow ready and an arrow in his hand but Daeben did not seem interested in eating him. Legolas wondered if anyone would believe what he had witnessed even if he could find words to explain it. Still he followed Anion, wary.

**000**

Phe was nervous to come before the King again but he had sent for her specifically and so she had little choice. She walked with the aid of a stick to his private dining room. Her increasing independence brightened her spirits a great deal and made her feel much more capable and hopeful. She found Thranduil sitting beneath the high arch of an ornate window, amidst a pile of red and orange cushions. He gazed out at the last minutes of the dying day. Phe's cane clicked on the dark wood floor. He did not turn his head but she felt he was aware of her.

'My lady,' he murmured. 'I was not sure that you would come.'

'Well-' she said softly. 'It is hard to avoid an order from the King, my lord.'

'You may leave if it pleases you, regardless of my command,' he said evenly.

Phe smiled to herself. It was pleasant indeed to be offered the freedom of the evening.

'That is kind of you my lord, but I will stay, if it please _you_.'

Thranduil turned his head slowly and the liquid light of dusk ran through his hair like molten gold. He smiled softly and rose to greet her with a bow.

'My lord,' she returned it. Thranduil came softly to stand before her.

'I must apologise,' he smiled softly.

_He looks like a guilty little boy!_ Phe's breath came faster with nervousness and desire.

'For the pool-' Phe nodded, embarrassed.

'Yes. I did not realise you were bathing. I heard your scream and I could not leave your safety to chance.'

The warmth of his kiss was fresh in her memory. Now that she was near him again she desired nothing more than another kiss. She noticed that he wore his sword. She supposed that everyone in Sindaroth was on edge since the infestation.

'I am grateful that you came to help us,' Phe gazed up. She found him thoughtful and soft about the face. Suddenly she felt a burning urge to hold him, to have him wrap his arms around her in return.

'Once the Greenwood was a most beautiful place. It grieves me to see it reduced so. Do not be embarrassed, my lady,' his voice dropped. 'The vision I saw will haunt my dreams.'

Phe's gaze snapped to his, her skin suddenly alight and her insides aching with desire. She understood his heavy eyes and deeper breathing. She wanted to touch him as much as he desired her.

'I am condemned to see it again and again whenever I close my eyes. I have rarely _wanted_ to be condemned before.'

Phe blushed, her whole body on the edge of arousal the likes of which she had never felt. It was if the very air between them would ignite. She felt as if it would incinerate her clothes and compel them to touch here and now, on the floor if need be.

Thranduil gestured to her seat, as clearly flustered and warm as she but without the confidence to risk a second rejection. Phe sat.

Thranduil's nape tingled in the way it was apt to do whenever he was eager to be touched. The hairs on his skin all stood to attention, as did his manhood. It was becoming distracting so he changed the subject quickly;

'We have found tunnels, my lady. It seems there is an imperfection in the rock face that we had not noticed before now. Some kind of subsidence. Perhaps we will have to tear the foundations away and rebuild that wing. That is how the spiders have gained access. Our warding has never reached underground but now that has been remedied.'

'So they will stop coming in?' Phe looked hopeful. 'I do so hate them now. Just the thought of that day sends me into a panic!'

'That is my hope. It seems that Leesha may have used one of the tunnels to reach the woods. I have sent her to begin training with a blade. She must be able to defend herself.'

'But she is so young!'

'Yes. She is. She has well hidden, ill feelings towards me, even though I am almost her Father now. She does not intend to stay here, I can feel it in her. She wishes a return to her homeland but there is nothing left there except ash and rubble and perhaps the bones of her parents. My lady, when you are stronger I would like you to learn yourself.'

Phe smiled suddenly.

'Truly, my lord?'

A nod.

'Oh, my Father would certainly lay an egg if he knew, but I would love to learn to fight! I have been shown how to use a knife but I have always wished I could shoot a bow, too.'

Thranduil's smile broadened as if he approved greatly of her enthusiasm.

'Then you will,' he said. 'I will see to it that you receive your lessons from the very best!'

Aides brought in their feast and set it down in steaming bowls. Phe was very happy to see it. She had been hungry for some time and food would certainly distract her from the inconvenient wetness between her thighs. Silently they helped themselves.

'I think I will have to take Leesha to her homeland,' Thranduil said after a few minutes. 'She must be shown that there is no way back to her old life. It is unkind to expose her innocence to such horror but if it will save her life then it must be done. That girl is so wilful.'

'You have such a way with her, my lord. You are patient! Instead of threatening her you seek to show her why she cannot leave? I wish my Father had been so understanding with me! Leesha is very lucky.'

Phe was sure that Thranduil had gone a little bit pink around the ears.

'When I was a boy, my Father set rules that I and my sisters did not dare to break. I have told you before that Oropher had a gentleness but he fought with it as one would fight a sickness. He was also a disciplined man who taught his children to be the same. He did not honour me with the reasons for his restrictions. So, in time I became difficult and resentful. It seemed he made his rules just to spite me. I tested him and we argued often. I regret it now but there is nothing to be done for that.'

Phe put half a potato in her mouth.

'I understand, my lord. You wish to be different.'

'I _am_ different,' he said. 'Leesha is no fool as I am sure you have noticed by now. She can keep secrets. She is quiet and fast. She is brave and she knows very well how to use her innocent eyes to sway me. I wish her to grow up strong and true and to know her own mind.'

Suddenly Phe saw why his children were so willful and why they spoke to him so openly. She had often wondered if he had ever spanked them for misbehaviour at all. Once she had been Olerydes argue with him and Phe had thought that if she had addressed her Father in such a way, he would have bruised her face for impudence.

Legolas clearly idolised him and Thranduil had a way with the boy that Phe was sure was the most important relationship in his life. She wondered if he showed the same care and devotion to a wife.

'My lady?' his voice shook her from her thoughts. She saw that she had stopped eating.

'Forgive me,' she finally smiled at him. 'I was just thinking that I am envious. _Ada_ does not explain himself, or seem to care how I feel. In fact, my lord, I am not sure he knows I do.'

Thranduil sipped his wine. It had a hot, sweet taste.

'_Hiril vuin._ I saw that in him and it is why I did not buy you. Courtesans can be bribed, whores can be paid, ladies of the court can be tempted into my bed with a few jewels and so long as I give them release they will crawl back between my sheets any time I beckon,' a rakish smile crossed his face.

Phe flushed pink anew and devoted herself to dividing up some salad to hide it. He went on; 'But friends cannot be bought and conversations do not run so smoothly when you must inspire them with gold.'

'You think me a friend?' she blurted.

Thranduil's soft smile and gentle gaze suggested that he did feel that way. He inclined his head.

'If you wish it I will think so,' he said. 'But you are also my daughters friends and so of interest to me. I must say that _I_ got there before Olerydes! In you I saw potential. Since the departure of your parents you have begun to blossom. In place of a ruined daughter I see a lovely flower, beginning to want the sun.'

Phe felt tears rush up her throat and at first she tried to push them down and ignore them but they were stronger than she had hoped. She reeled from his gentleness and marveled at how he saw more value in her beyond her value in marriage or the children she could bear. Suddenly they spilled over and the King laughed.

Phe pushed her chair back and rose to flee in shame but before she could get six steps the King caught her wrist. He handed her a napkin from the table. At first she was horrified that he seemed so amused by her tears but then he laid both hands on her elbows and rubbed gently. His hands pushed warmth into her skin. Ahe almost wished that he would stop, because like the first time they had met his presence overwhelmed her defenses and opened her heart. He watched her without a word, until;

'_Goheno nin_-' he chuckled. 'I have hit a sore nerve, my lady. I have a gift for that. When I inherited my crown I also came by a role that has been reinforced by countless generations of Kings. It is my heart that holds this realm together.'

'You _do_ have insight,' she agreed softly.

'It is supposed to help you as it helps my kin,' he confided quietly. 'Are they joyful tears? Or have I caused you sorrow?'

'Few people have given me worth beyond what is expected of me in marriage. I have always been told not to speak freely, not to let others see what I feel-' Phe swallowed around a rough-edged lump. Her tone dropped into frustration that ran so deep that Thranduil with his delicate senses could easily discern her anger.

'When I am here I feel as if the opposite is expected of me. It feels simply wonderful, as though I have been hungry for this understanding for far too long.'

He said; 'You have deep feelings, which you do not show. As do I. It is why I invited you into my home and allowed my children to befriend you.'

His magnetic gaze he drew her deeper into a world of secrets, which she felt she was close to discovering. Which he might soon uncover for her. Suddenly she wondered if he loved her, if his heart was opening as hers was. She was too afraid of his rejection to ask him, or to show her own growing fondness in case she was mistaken.

'Come and eat with me, my lady. Our meal is not done and I desire your company.'

Phe did so, her tears spent and her heart tender. She actually felt a little bruised, as though some deep and meaningful feeling had been dragged out of her deep self and exposed long before she was ready to face it. Thranduil ate in silence for a few minutes and she watched how methodically he divided up his food.

'I am sure your Father will be wanting you home soon, my lady. You have been with us much longer than expected.'

'It is good of you to say so, _hir vuin_, but I do not think my Father will be so keen. I have shamed him and he will be angry with me. I feel he will make me match soon, and I suppose I should be grateful, but I dread that news more than any other. It is _not_ what I want.'

'Then what do you want, _hiril vuin?_ Most elven ladies dream of a good home and a strong, lasting husband,' he smiled softly. 'And many, energetic children.'

Phe shook her head.

'I would like a cottage, my lord. In a thick, green forest where I can ride my horse and when I meet an elf I love, perhaps one day I will teach children there. I wish to be free! Freedom can only happen for a woman when she is either married, or given to the protection of a greater power. I would trust my life to the forest and there build a little house where I can live in peace with myself.'

Thranduil sipped his wine thoughtfully.

'Well...have you any mind for business,_ hiril vuin_? Has it not occurred to you to ask me for the means? I have plenty of gems and trinkets and certainly it would only take one of them would buy you a cottage!'

Phe's smile faltered a bit. '_Hir vuin,_ I could not ask you that. They are not mine, nor do I have any claim to them.'

Thranduil's gaze intensified. Phe sensed he was watching her closely. She was not sure what to do for the best.

He said; 'You are a Lords daughter. Riches will one day be yours by right. You should get used to them. I have plenty and I will certainly not miss a few trinkets. What is your favourite stone and colour?'

Phe held up both her hands to stop him in his tracks_._

_Her fright is endearing and so sweet. I will not let him reclaim her, not until I am certain that Lord Caduven is no murderer._

'No, my lord, really that is _not _necessary. I could not take them. I have never desired riches, just a simple life and I would not take what I have not earned.'

'But ladies do not earn,' he leaned back. 'They marry. You said so yourself. Occasionally they meet a King who could be of service to their dream. So ask. I insist you do.'

Phe cast her eyes down to her plate.

'My lord. If you insist upon a gift then I would like a single sapphire.'

'Only one? And not even the brightest of gems. What can you be thinking when I have diamonds? Why so modest?'

'I need only one,' she said quickly. 'I would wrap it in a handkerchief, my lord. I would sell it for a cottage and so gain my freedom.'

'And afterwards, how will you eat and buy cattle and pigs for farming?'

'I would do without milk and I do not eat meat. I would grow vegetables in the woods.'

Thranduil was silent. Then suddenly, he laughed. It was a musical sound that made her tingle and fidget with delight.

'I have never heard such innocence! You do _not _have a head for business. You do not eat the animals my lady, you sell them to someone else to eat! Then you buy with the money things to decorate your house, items which you cannot grow, clothing. It matters not, you will have a sapphire.'

Phe did not know what to say. In the end she bowed her head rather uncomfortably and said;

'I am in your debt, my lord.'

'No, there is no debt. It is a gift.'

They finished their meal in amicable silence. When she was done, the King gave her a few minutes to rest and then he pushed his chair back from the table and came to offer her his hand.

Phe settled amongst the cushions of the beautiful bay window and saw that the stars had come out. Thranduil came to sit beside her and she turned her body so that she could enjoy the sight of his face and eyes. For some time the King merely gazed at her in silence. She felt as though he must be enjoying her or he would certainly have taken his leave by now. She was also enjoying him, especially his attention. It filled a void in her heart.

'I do not buy you with my gift,' he said then, quietly.

Phe dropped her gaze and stared at the floor.

'I understand, my lord. I am glad you do not.'

A warm finger caught her chin and tilted her head.

'No. _Hiril vuin_,' he breathed a soft sigh through his nose as he tended to when he was frustrated. He gestured to his own face with his hand. 'Take off this mask, I grow tired of seeing it.'

Phe licked her lips. 'I do not understand-'

'This mask you wear!' he brushed his fingertips down her cheek and lit her body on fire. 'My sisters were trained for court, my Mother. My daughters. I am not a fool. It is a lie.'

Phe shook her head, frustrated by his insistence.

'What should I do? Shall I be Pephennas? You would be the first elf, man or King, to ask _that_ of me!'

'I ask it,' he nodded.

'I have lost my true self beneath the lies,' she breathed, and tried to pull away from him.

'Then find yourself!' he hissed, only to reclaim her face.

Phe felt this was too much. She wrenched away from him and when he tried again she pushed his hands away fiercely and gazed back at him angrily. She would not have dared tell him not to touch her so, but Thranduil read her feelings from her face.

'You refuse my desire?' he finally asked, his face straight and schooled and giving no hint at the truth. He had played a thousand games like this with a thousand elves, and he knew well how to hide his own feelings and bring out their truth. Phe did not have his experience and surely she would not know he was merely playing an actor now, playing himself.

'I do not refuse you! I do not know what you want!'

'I want my Kingdom to run and my enemies to respect me, and the dwarves, those bearded _earthworms,_ to stay in their caverns and the elves to do as they are told and for men to get on with their short lives in whatever way suits them best, away from me. And for you to show me the truth that is living in your eyes, that you keep off your face out of fear. You _lie_.'

Phe felt her lip begin to wobble and she fought not to weep again.

'Of course I lie,' she broke finally. 'Who would want to see the truth? I have never had that choice open to me, King Thranduil. I am like a bird in a cage, and you are here to peck out my eyes for being what I was born to be!'

Thranduil gazed at her.

'I do not see much fire in you. Just a lot of sand. You are well accustomed to putting out others peoples flames, but not so good at kindling your own. I would not have enjoyed being married to a woman who hides like you.'

This was too much for Phe, who felt any masks he wore had been put there in self defense. She rose and made to stalk away before her anger overcame her. She turned, her face twisted in fury.

'And would I have enjoyed a marriage to you, King Thranduil, King of _Pride_! King of glittering, worthless gems and old grudges, held so long they must have gathered dust by now! Your heart is as cold as your eyes!'

Thranduil rose to face her, his brows knitted together.

_How beautiful she is when she is angry. I should vex her more often._

Phe went on before he could speak; 'You play with me with no regard for how I feel! Do you think me an idiot, my lord? I _know_ what you are doing!'

Thranduil saw suddenly why he found her so interesting. Phe was potential. She was fire and passion and the wild enthusiasm of youth, all locked in a paper cage of propriety. He wanted her to be free. He wanted her to remind him of how it felt to be so young.

'You seek to dig under my mask to find my face, to see what I hide. But I am a puzzle box you cannot open that way!'

'Stubborn wench!' he gazed down at her. 'I am trying to help you! You are trapped beneath your own pretence! Beneath Caduvens anger and your training-'

Phe hissed; 'The way you speak to me! You are so _rude_! My Father has always played games with my mind and feelings. It is a quality I do not like and it does not endear me to you! But if you were to ask me, my lord, I might tell you how I feel, and do it more freely than you think!'

'You are a fool, Pephennas.'

'Do not call me a fool!' she finally cried at him.

'But you are one. You think that I am torturing you because I enjoy it? I would be a fool to trust your sweet, calculated words. Your perfect manners-' he stumbled for a moment for the right words. 'You think this suits you but I see only a lie! Where I see a lie I must remove it. I must protect my house and my children!'

Phe was about to shout back at him but she abruptly closed her mouth and shook her head in disbelief.

_So that is why he toys with me!_

'You fear for your Kingdom,' she said more calmly. 'I see that is why you do this. I know you have been trying to discern my truest intentions and my prejudices and my desires since I arrived. I do not blame you for that. I am just tired, my lord. I have told you all I know, and shown you all I can to convince you I mean no harm to you or your kin. Still you will not believe me and you dig deeper and deeper into that which hurts me most, into my mind where all my pain and sorrow are stored, into what I cannot bear to show a man I hardly know! You deepen my sorrow!'

Phe sat again, slowly.

'Why do you test me so rigorously, my lord? Do you suspect me of wrongdoing?'

_No, _he thought._ I suspect you of innocence. A complete and total innocence that borders stupidity, but which I find so appealing, and so wonderful, I can only hope it make it mine._

Thranduil followed her onto the cushions and he gazed upon her face appreciatively. In return, Phe tried to read his mind.

'I can walk now. Can you not just send me home? Send me away where you will be free of me!'

'No!' he said, with an intensity that surprised them both. 'I will not.'

Phe stared at him in surprise. She sensed he was holding something back.

'Why not?' she asked quietly.

He rose and fetched the bottle and with his back to her he said; 'I do _not _want to.'

Phe stood and went to the window. It felt so good to stand unaided. She tucked a strand of stray hair behind her ear and sighed a foggy breath onto the glass. She was both frustrated and delighted by his attention. Then to her surprise the King handed her a glass of sweeter wine. His fabric brushed her backside and made her tingle. She took it with a sigh and tried it. It was lovely.

'Sit,' he said more softly, over her shoulder.

'No,' Phe defied him openly for the first time. Thranduil was silent for a full minute before he came back, closer again to repeat his order. His command sent shivers down her spine and made her insides twitch and warm.

'Not until you tell me why you will not send me home!' She insisted.

Thranduil hissed a frustrated sigh, then he spoke hotly to the back of her head. His breath stirred her hair;

'You _know _why.'

'I promise you, I have no idea.'

'Now who is playing with whom?'

Phe smiled. She slid into the chair and gazed at him across the gap.

'You are angry with me, my lady.'

'Yes, you have insulted me,' she said. 'I do not give up my secrets so easily.'

Thranduil's eyes were fierce and wild.

'Now you are teasing me!'

'A woman's heart is a nest of secrets,' she said. 'But I have nothing worth hiding where you are searching.'

Thranduil found his courage and moved to occupy the space beside her. When Phe did not move away, he turned to watched the starlight reflect in her eyes. The edge of his cloak warmed her thigh and made her needy and warm.

'You grow bolder,' he said.

'Does it please you, my lord?' Phe sipped the wine.

'Very much,' he nodded.

'Look!' Phe pointed suddenly. 'I can see the serpent. He is my favourite. A cunning little fellow with a sharp wit. Which is your favourite, my lord?'

'Wine?' he smiled.

'Constellation,' she smirked at his cleverness.

'Mine is below the horizon,' he said. 'The Hydra. He can see all around him. He is the king of all magical beasts.'

'I think I like the serpent best because I admire his qualities,' she said.

Thranduil turned her face with warm fingers and smiled softly. 'I _am_ the Hydra.'

Phe made a sweet noise of desire when he leaned in and kissed her softly. She tangled her fingers in his hair and then about his shoulders. Suddenly his glass clinked on the table and Phe was not sure if he had spilled it or just put it down, but he leaned forward and took her fiercely in his arms as though his hunger had overwhelmed him.

It was as though the dam had broken. Phe melted against him helplessly and prayed he would not stop until they were tangled and joined and satisfied together. She gasped when he teased open her lips and pushed his tongue into her mouth. Her body responded unbidden. She felt the heat growing with her wetness and gripped him harder. The deeper he pushed his tongue, the further her heart seemed to flower open until Phe knew there were glistening tears in the corners of her eyes. She felt one fall and he pulled away abruptly.

'No! No-' she breathed, before his expression of concern could melt into sorrow. She put her face shyly against his. 'They are because of my husband. I do _not_ want you to stop.'

Again his hands tightened on her waist possessively and Phe breathed a soft sigh of arousal against his ear.

Thranduil was hard and aching, needy again after so much teasing. But that was not why he continued. As Phe acquiesced and slowly gained confidence in their kiss, a need for her touch rose that was so great he had only felt the like of it once before. He caught her hand and pushed it under his collar desperately.

'_Touch me!_' he hissed and he made a noise when Phe began to play with his skin.

Phe wanted to pull back. What was rising inside her was far too needy, certainly too intimate for so young a relationship. She had begun to see the telltale glimmer of white lights about her outer vision. Only once before had she seen these, one night when she and Rosdaer were trying to conceive a child. She tried to tell him but Thranduil's kiss was insistent and deep.

'Mmm!' was all she managed, before the light surged up and engulfed her whole. She cried out in shock as an orgasm rippled through her.

Thranduil's brow furrowed suddenly and his grip tightened. He pulled her so close that he might have been trying to enter her. She clambered haphazardly into his lap and held on as he rode a wave of light so great that it made him whimper in helpless abandon. And then just as quickly as it had come, it subsided, leaving him shaking and..._spent_.

'_By the Valar_!' he whispered hotly. His underclothes were damp and Phe was panting in his arms, her cheeks flushed and hair messy.

'I saw the lights!' Phe gasped, her face damp against his cheek. 'My lord! Did you see them, I cannot believe it!'

He was caught somewhere between shame and abandon. His cheek was wet with her tears.

'I did not know that could happen!' she exclaimed.

Thranduil was trembling. Her soft brown eyes and now full lips made him want to take her here and now. She had tasted like their dessert, all clean and sweet and he needed her, more than he had needed anything for so long. He had seen the light inside her and he wanted now to be a part of it.

'We must not touch,' he finally said softly.

When her expression fell he realised what he had said and grabbed her hands in both of his.

'No, my lady. You do not know what those lights can do!'

Phe's eyes were wide and dark. She looked as her confusion might send her into weeping and Thranduil had seen quite enough of her tears. He shook his head at her innocence and tugged her in closer.

'They make _children_, my lady. I saw them once before my son was conceived. Once before Olerydes and Lilia, both. Haliel and I set out to make them, we knew what the lights would do. To see them with you, and for a mere kiss-' he stopped and gazed at her curiously.

'My lord, I have - when we kissed, I think that I-' she flushed.

Thranduil leaned in slowly and put his face near her ear. He whispered;

'I know. I heard your cry.'

Phe went so hot she felt uncomfortable until he finished;

'As did I. My name is _Thranduil._ You cannot join with me in the light and then call me _my lord_.'

**000**

Thranduil was mid way through a meeting with the master, who had come to him to say that Anion was not doing as well at his lessons as he ought. He was surprised to find his mind wandering to Pephennas. It then flicked to the day when she had found Gwenthel in her chambers and come to return her. As soon as he could he left the master at the table and disappeared into a dark stairwell. There he leaned his head on his forearm and stared at the brickwork in the dim light.

_How could I be so stupid as to let her run free so soon! I thought her too young to cause such trouble, but what if she overheard, and misunderstood?_

Thranduil found Leesha upstairs. He sat beside her and pulled her into his lap. Leesha sensed right away that something was wrong and she took his silken overcoat in her hands and asked if he was going to cry. Thranduil tried to smile as he said gently; 'Leesha, do you remember the day Pephennas arrived? Remember when you were in her chambers? Did Anion take you up to see the pretty ladies? It is alright, you can tell _Ada_.'

'Yes?' she said softly.

'What did they say? Tell _Ada _what the ladies said. Do you remember?'

Leesha thought about it. She played with one of the fastenings on his coat.

'Said...that _Ada_ was going to marry the pretty lady today.'

'Good girl, Leesha. You are such a clever girl,' he stroked her hair. 'Tell me who you told about it. Did you say the same thing to Olerydes maybe?'

Leesha nodded.

'Salla. Anion. Yes,' she said. Then she gazed at his closed eyes and got a bit restless. 'Then...' she went on unexpectedly, 'the hairy man.'

'The hairy man? Do you mean Lord Caduven? Did he have a big black beard, Leesha?'

'Yes. He said I was pretty.'

'Did he say anything else?' Thranduil asked carefully.

'He was happy,' Leesha said.

Thranduil stood up and placed her down gently.

'Good girl, Leesha,' he said, and left her playing.

**000**

Thranduil summoned Thandir to carry a message and within a few minutes, the artisan arrived with his case of trinkets and Thranduil shut the door softly behind him and beckoned him to the desk.

'It must be as delicate as she,' he instructed the man quietly. 'White, I think, because she is innocent, and hang it upon a chain this long, so that it can be seen above her gown.'

He bowed and was gone. Within the day Thranduil received back a small box, which he checked and found entirely lovely. Then he slid it into his pocket.

Phe had come outside. Wrapped in a thick shawl and wearing winter boots beneath her gown she tilted back her head to look at the frozen sky. She heard the footsteps of some wild creature coming down the bank and turned in surprise to see a great elk. It was a tall beast with wild, huge antlers and it towered over her little bench. For a moment she thought to be afraid of it until she saw that it was carrying a rider.

Thranduil released the reins and offered her a gentle smile.

_'Hiril vuin_!' he said, as he slid off the animals back and landed on the soft grass. 'It is a long way back to the palace.'

Phe thought about it for a moment and then she laughed.

'I suppose I did come quite a long way,' she conceded. 'I was trying my legs.'

Thranduil brushed a hand down his mounts broad throat. Phe rose slowly and bought her stick with her.

'This is Lavachon!' she exclaimed. 'He_ is_ so beautiful. Is he tame?'

'He is very gentle.'

Phe came cautiously to his head. She smiled when he blew out a cloud of hot breath that stirred her gown. She touched his muzzle and found him soft and warm. He nosed her palm, bristly and smooth together. She laughed. Phe chanced to glance at Thranduil's face.

'What is wrong, _hir vuin_?' she asked, when she saw his countenance.

'Nothing is wrong,' he said. 'I have news, my lady. I have spoken to Legolas. It seems that Leesha was taken to see you in secret when first you arrived, by Anion. She must have overheard you speaking and misunderstood. Not long after she ran across your Father and she told him what she had heard. It is likely she told the cook. Salla is my oldest friend, but she will be disciplined nonetheless for gossiping.'

Phe stared at him in mute, blank shock.

'Leesha?' Phe gazed at him. 'So...it was nothing but an accident? My Mother told me that_ Ada_ had already arranged it, but I wonder now if he stalled, afraid...when I came to return her doll he was angry with me for interrupting!'

'He had been avoiding a subject all morning, my lady. I was growing quite tired of him.'

'He meant to ask you my lord, I am _sure_ he did! Perhaps he just lacked the courage?'

'It seems so.'

Phe wanted to cry. Suddenly she felt as if a great weight had been lifted. She was so grateful to be found innocent of all crimes that she threw her arms around him. Thranduil caught her and embraced her firmly. Her body was soft but still strong, despite her long recovery. He reveled in her warmth and willingness and felt himself go stiff. Phe thanked him, her face against his hair and smiled widely when she pulled away.

'Will you ride with me?'

Phe smiled. For the first time she felt as though it was a true smile given freely. Her heart was warm and swollen with affection and she desired nothing more than time alone with him.

Lavachon was a tall beast. Thranduil's cloth whispered when he lifted her into the saddle. Phe had expected him to sit close but it was impossible not to sit both together upon the elk without pressing their bodies together. Thranduil was warm and soft, hard muscle rising under tender, perfect skin. As he reached around her she felt the strength in his arms and she sighed softly in pleasure.

'I do not know if it will hurt me-' she said.

'If it does then I will take you home.'

Lavachon covered ground with strides as long as a horse. He wandered through the woods on the broader paths. Once or twice he corrected his footing on slippery ground and those were the times when Phe hissed and reached to grip her back. Thranduil slid a hand about her waist and pulled her in tightly to his belly. The warmth helped to relax her and ease her posture. She was grateful for his strength and the way he kept her steady.

'My lord? So quiet?'

_'Thranduil,_' he said near her ear. 'I will not easily forget the lights.'

'Thranduil.'

It felt odd to say it with no title.

'You are warm,' he murmured. 'I will try not to embarrass you, Pephennas. If you promise you will not tease me.'

Phe flushed bright and hot and nearly choked on her own air.

'I do not think I can avoid it sitting like this.'

She sensed he was smiling. His arm tightened.

'You may say **"Thranduil, leave me be, you are a letch!**" I will not be angry-'

Phe burst out laughing.

'Thranduil do not _dare_ leave me be-'

Thranduil swept her hair aside with a gentle brush and kissed the nape of her neck sweetly. Phe shuddered and pressed closer. Then gently he said;

'I will not doubt you in future. Your innocence is proven in my eyes.'

'You have a right to doubt me. I am not your kin and my Father may now be your enemy. But I will do no harm to you, my lord, you will see if you give me a chance. I am too grateful for all that was done for me and too attached to the Greenwood.'

Phe had the sense that something had just changed. Something important.

'It is unfortunate that you can now ride,' he said quietly. 'No longer can I cite it as an excuse for not sending you home.'

Phe reached gently for the reins and he gave them to her willingly. Thranduil laid a hand on her hip and grew stiff right away. He was sure she felt it but she made no mention of it.

'Oh, but it hurts me, my lor-' she stopped. 'I mean, _Thranduil_. So much that I endure it only so that I might go riding with my King!'

'I will not subject you to a lengthy journey yet, then,' he assured her.

'I am grateful,' she teased.

At the crest of a hill Phe pulled Lavachon gently to a stop. Thranduil smiled at the sky.

'You have a taste for beautiful places,' he said.

Phe smiled. Then with a soft rustle Thranduil produced a box and passed it gently into her hands.

'A gift,' he said. 'An apology. Wear it so that all will see you are redeemed.'

Phe's heart was in her throat when she opened it. Inside was a silvery pendant strung on a slender chain. It wound abound a blinding white gem that shimmered in the afternoon sun. Finding words to thank him was hard but Phe's voice was snatched away entirely when the King took it gently from her hands. He freed it from its box and strung it about her neck. When he was done he laid his hands on her arms. Phe tried to twist and she managed to go so far that she could see him. His crystalline eyes were heavy and soft.

'Oh Thranduil...I cannot believe you have given me this!' she whispered.

The air became electric then, until Thranduil's desire outweighed his caution and he cupped her face and kissed her lips softly. Phe made a soft noise and reached to touch his skin as thought even the slightest contact would feed the need in her soul. She leaned in and joined her tongue with his. Slowly she found his hair and then his jaw. His grip on her belly tightened and he sighed softly. When at last they parted, Phe was both glad and disappointed that there were no lights. She said desperately, hoping to voice some of what she was feeling so intensely;

'Do not send me home yet. I will_ not_ go, not now!'

'Have no fear,' his voice was strange and tight. He put his forehead gently against her temple. He pressed their bodies close. He watched the sun begin to sink and fought the lump in his throat.

_I will defy him to battle to keep you,_ he thought. _It is unwise to mix matters of the state with matters of the heart, but my heart is taken now and there is little I can do about it._ Thranduil held her close and breathed her scent and wanted very much to voice what flowed through his heart. He held back.

**000**

The next afternoon, Thranduil trod alone over the soft snow, between the barren trees. The land was coated with white and the gravestone was half covered in it. He bent. With his hands he brushed it clean. His heart ached. Haliel was at the forefront of his mind more and more. Graceful fingers traced the carved stone and travelled the writing. **Beloved Wife and Mother.** Thranduil's hair stirred in the cold breeze and behind him, Lavachon snorted out a cloud of hot air.

_So few years,_ he thought._ I had you just a thousand years and I might live five more yet. It is so dark in here, my love. I struggle alone. I am full of sadness. Forgive me. She eases the pain! With her I find I can feel again._

He touched the stone and did not think of the tears that fell. They froze on their way down and hit the ground like diamonds.

_What are these few tears next to my grief, which rages on endlessly for you. _

Lavachon trod so softly over the deep drifts that he did not sink even with the weight of the Elvenking upon his back. He watched the Winter birds and twitched his ears at the slightest sounds. Thranduil let him walk and sat easy in the saddle. When Lavachon stopped to drink from a stream, Thranduil took his chance to walk a fairy glade and was very surprised by what he found hidden behind a cluster of trees. A cavern, deep and dark and full of sweet, Spring smells to out of keeping with the season that he was surprised the Greenwood could still support such magic. His tears for Haliel dried when he peered inside. It was bigger inside than out and lined with grass and moss.

_I have ridden these paths a thousand times and never found you! How can that be so? I will bring her here! It is a place where we can be completely alone!_

**000**

That night Phe wept for Rosdaer in a way she had not dared to at home, for fear that her parents might hear. She buried her face in the rich fabrics of her borrowed chambers and sobbed until her throat was sore, remembering silly little details that she had tried to forget. Olerydes found her and put her arms abound her shoulders, whispering reassurance. Then she sank heavily beside Phe and rubbed her hand.

'Your husband?' she asked tentatively.

'I miss him more than anything, Olerydes! I am sure I cannot live without him. It is as if I am walking alone through the darkness. I cannot ease my own pain without him, and he cannot come back to me! Why did he have to die?'

'I cannot say,' Olerydes said softly.

'He had gone to check the fences by the stream!' she wept. 'He never came home. It got so late and I was so afraid. Our neighbour came with me to search for him. He had been slain. He was laying in the creek!'

Olerydes squeezed her shoulder.

'I am so sorry, dearest.'

Phe threw her arms around the older girls neck and sobbed into her shoulder. Olerydes held her willingly and stroked her hair until she calmed.

'I have made you all wet-' Phe said apologetically, after some time.

'I will dry,' said Olerydes, sensibly.

Phe managed to smile at her. 'You are my friend, Olerydes. I will miss you so, when I return home.'

'I, you. We can still write.'

'We could visit,' Phe smiled. 'I hope so. When I was younger I dreamed of coming to the Greenwood. I almost feel as if I have made a home here, Olerydes. I am torn.'

Olerydes rubbed her hand gently and then she spied the gem at her bosom. She reached to touch it.

'Well! That is a lovely thing. Dearest, do you have a suitor? Only a wealthy one would have given you such a gift!'

Phe let Olerydes look. She would certainly have claimed that she had only forgotten to take it off but in truth Phe did not think she would ever part with it even to sleep.

'It is a clouded diamond!' the older girl exclaimed. 'That is a Kings ransom about your neck!'

Phe blushed.

'It was a gift, from Thranduil,' she said uncomfortably. 'He says that I am redeemed in his eyes. Now that he knows I did no wrong to him...he means it as an apology you see.'

Olerydes looked at her askance.

'An apology?' she snorted in a very unladylike way. 'That is no apology, dearest. That is a _love gift!_ An apology is a bunch of flowers!'

'It is Winter, Olerydes-' Phe frowned.

'We have a hot house you know!'

Phe touched the pendant and smiled. Olerydes gave her a very penetrating look.

'Have you kissed him yet?'

Phe flushed bright and hot and tried to avoid the question but Olerydes gaped.

'You have! You have kissed him!'

'Please, do not tell anyone!' Phe begged her. 'I do not know what I feel. It is all so new.'

'Dearest I will not tell anyone, I simply want to know! Are you to be our stepmother? That would be so strange.'

'No! No,' Phe denied that quickly. 'No, he has said no such.'

'Do you love him?'

Phe licked her lips and again she touched the pendant.

'I feel...I do not know-'

'You do,' Olerydes rose to gaze on her face. 'You do, and he must love you to have given you that.'

Phe made a noise when Olerydes pulled her into an embrace and rubbed her back.

'You do because you are weeping again, Pephennas. I always know when you feel deeply because you weep.'

Phe managed to laugh into her shoulder.

'Do not worry. I am going to keep it a secret. Of course I will.'

'Have I ruined everything?' Phe asked her quickly. 'Do you think less of me?'

'Of course not,' Olerydes laughed. 'I wish to see _Ada_ happy. Since our Mother died he has not been the same. It will be strange when you marry him but I will get used to it, I am sure. We may get to keep you, Phe!'

That night Phe retired with the pendant still about her neck. She was very aware of it. Of its shimmer and value and of the meaning of it. Now that it had been given she felt that she could not bear to part with it, not even to buy a cottage. Her heart burned bright and hot, the doors to her soul thrown open for the King who dominated her thoughts that night.

* * *

_Translations_

_Forgive me/Sorry - Goheno nin_

_My Lady - Hiril Vuin _

_My lord - Hir vuin_

_My son = Ionneg _

_My daughter = Iellig _


	8. The Weight of Memory

**_7. The Weight of Memory  
_**

Olerydes had come to Phe's chamber to play a game of cards and share a glass of wine with her. She had long since fallen asleep. Phe levered herself out of the chair she favoured and crept from the room. She trod the smooth walkways up to the second floor and joined a bending corridor that would take her to the roof. Small lanterns hung from the ragged rocks. They lent the caverns a dull night time glow that was enough to see by. Sindaroth was quiet and dark but for the odd night guard or patrol returning.

_A climb cannot be out of my range now. My stick will help_. _So long since I have seen the unobstructed stars tonight, I will be happy.__  
_

She was passing the family rooms when a little noise snatched her attention. She turned and there was Leesha, standing in the shadows just behind an open door. Gwenthel dangled from her hand. She was weeping. Phe gazed at her. _  
_

_You looks so lost! Can I be angry with you? Yours were the words that ruined everything! Yet, if you had not spoken, he may not have been lead to kiss me._

Then another thought rose to offer clarity;_ I need him. I want him. I wish he would ask me to marry him!_

Phe bent beside Leesha and decided that all was forgiven. She could not imagine that Leesha had meant any harm.

'What is wrong? Do not cry.'

The girl walked right into her arms and gave her a sweet hug. A strange, unfamiliar feeling rose in Phe. She wondered if this was what it felt like to be a Mother.

'I want _Ada_,' Leesha sobbed.

Phe hugged her. She was gratified when the little girl stopped crying so hard. She smelled clean, as though she had been given a bath before bed. A night guard passed them by chance.

'You!' Phe called. He came to the edge of the walkway and gestured.

'I, my lady?'

'Fetch King Thranduil and bring him here.'

He bowed and went. Phe lowered herself to her knees, thinking that perhaps it would be more comfortable than crouching, which always put a crick in her spine. Sometimes she still had moments in which her muscles seized and those times were very painful. She wanted to avoid one now. Leesha was very happy to receive Phe's attentions. She began to play with Phe's hair and then came for another cuddle.

Phe was relieved when she heard footsteps coming towards them because she could feel her legs losing blood flow. Thranduil looked tired. His hair was wild and tangled, moreso on one side than the other. He looked as if he had dragged himself from sleep.

'_Hir vuin,_ I found her here, she was asking for you.'

He wore nothing but plain sleeping leggings and a thin tunic. Instantly Phe became wet and warm between her legs. She could still feel his kiss and his warm, gentle hands. She remembered the lights and how they had joined within them accidentally.

_Like it was meant to be!_

Phe went hot under her thick cloak and dropped her gaze to hide her blush. As soon as she had cooled down she passed her eyes once, twice, three times over his body to memorise the shape of his muscles. He bent to scoop Leesha up and sat her on his hip. She buried her nose in his chest.

'What is wrong, my sweetling? The dream again?'

Silently, Leesha nodded. Thranduil kissed her cheek softly.

'It is gone now,' he assured her. 'They are only pictures, they cannot do you any harm.'

Leesha clung to his coat. Thranduil set her down on her feet. She clutched his leg. He bent to offer both his hands to Phe.

_'Hiril vuin_,' he said. 'Can you stand?'

'I think so,' she took his hand and sought to bring a leg forward to rise. She found her legs had gone dead of blood. Her body was stiff and heavy. Now that she was on the floor she could not find the strength in her legs. A sharp pain shot up her back and forced a gasp.

'My legs have gone dead!' she said, alarmed, 'I do not think I can.'

'Let me lift you.'

Thranduil bent and put his arms around her. Phe bit back a noise of pleasure. Gently he set her back on her feet. Even then her legs refused to cooperate. She could not keep her balance and she clung to Thranduil, uncomfortable and embarrassed.

'I have never been so helpless,' she bemoaned her injury. 'Let me sit, quickly!'

Thranduil lifted her off the floor like a bride on her wedding day. Phe put her arms about his neck. Her fingers found the bare skin of his nape by accident. He made a soft noise and met her gaze but with Leesha so close he did not speak of his desire. Phe smiled cheekily and did it again.

'My lady-' he murmured, appreciatively.

'My lord,' she smiled innocently.

'You should not be walking so far,' he said, to distract them both.

Phe chewed her lip. 'But I am not walking, my lord.'

Thranduil's lips tilted. Phe's heart fluttered with excitement. He carried her into a small, comfortable room and placed her down gently in a rocking chair. Then he turned to scoop up Leesha who had been following, quite upset, behind them. He kissed her cheek. She was less than impressed with him for carrying Phe and leaving her to walk.

'Do not be angry,' he gave her another kiss. 'Lady Phe cannot walk! We could not leave her on the landing.'

Leesha smacked his cheek to show her disapproval. The King did the same back, only much more gently and with only two of his fingers.

_'Words,_ Leesha, not smacks. We have discussed this!' he said, unhappily.

'I hate you!' she said quietly.

Phe felt a jab go through her heart when Thranduil paused, just for a fraction of a second. She sensed that Leesha's comment had hurt him but he gave no further reaction to it. With the patience of a saint he said stubbornly;

'Well, I love_ you_.'

Leesha sulked. Thranduil crept a spider-hand up her thigh and tickled her.

'I _still_ love you,' he went on, indulgently. She pushed him away and sulked some more, until he had done it again and again. Then she realised his attention was completely hers. She broke into a smile and the spider-hand turned into a game of catch and hide, until at last he put her down in her bed and covered her with her blanket.

He bent to kiss her head. He sat, his hand in her hair and waited for her to sleep. Phe had almost dozed off herself when at last the child's breathing evened out. Thranduil rose silently. Carefully, quietly, he helped her out of the chair and onto her feet. He slid his hand into hers to pull her out of the room.

Outside, Phe squeezed it gently.

'My lord, she did not mean it.'

'No, she means it,' he said as he turned to enjoy her face. 'I am both the one she needs most and the one she hates most. She thinks I am the reason she cannot reach her parents. I think she will get difficult now. I was hoping it would be longer.'

'All children are difficult at times,' Phe said quietly. 'When I was a child I said such awful things to my parents.'

'As did I. I regret them now,' he offered her a gentle smile. 'But sadly there is nothing I can do for that.'

Phe laid her hand on his arm.

'Leesha will come to appreciate you in hindsight,' she smiled.

Thranduil took both her arms in his hands. Phe felt his warmth and began to crave another kiss.

'Where were you going? To bed?' he asked.

'No. I wanted to see the stars.'

'Let me come with you, then. I too crave the starlight, especially on these clear nights. Can you walk further?'

'So long as I do not try to kneel again I think I can manage it.'

They walked very slowly to the top of the cave column and on the way took a break to allow Phe to rest her legs. They took a small exit flanked with twisting roots which emptied onto a cavernous night, strewn with diamonds. Phe gasped and tilted her head back to look. She uttered a soft curse at their unparalleled beauty. Thranduil gazed at the soft expanse of black. The night wind stirred his hair. Gently he reached to take Phe's waist in his hands.

'Pephennas,' he said softly.

_'Thranduil,_' she teased him with his name.

Gently he brought his chest to her back and wrapped an arm about her. Phe put her head upon his shoulder and smiled at the starry night.

'You wear my gift,' he murmured. 'It suits you.'

'I have not taken it off,' she told him.

Thranduil leaned closer to enjoy the smell of her hair. Despite his love for starlight he closed his eyes and touched her neck with sweet, eager fingertips. Phe's lids fluttered closed in pleasure.

'Thranduil-' she breathed.

'Mmm-' he murmured, happily.

Phe turned around abruptly and grabbed him, her body suddenly taught and her core hot and needy. She pulled him down by his tunic so that she could reach his lips. Thranduil needed no encouragement. He kissed her hungrily and pressed his straining erection into her belly. With one hand on her sweet, round bottom and the other in her hair he almost crushed her lips in his haste to get inside her mouth. When she let him in he moaned and sought her tongue for a hot, wet dance. Once they had found a perfect rhythm and a sense of balance between their eager bodies, they settled and the kiss became a slow, thorough exploration that neither wanted to end.

When at last Phe did break away it was to breathe. Thranduil made a desperate noise and dragged her closer to his groin. Once he had a good grip on her he ground softly against her hips until she moaned and pleaded against his chin for more. Thranduil took his lips away only to apply them to her throat where he sucked and nibbled. She arched in pleasure but hissed in pain too. He drew away before he could unwittingly hurt her.

'My back-' she explained, as she winced and sagged against his shoulder. 'It is still so painful.'

'I will not worsen it,' he promised, with a soft and loving touch to her throat. 'I will stop.'

Phe tilted her head back to gaze into his face. Thranduil was sure he could see more in her eyes than she had so far allowed herself to say. It gave him courage and encouragement, as he felt the same.

'I always thought you were beautiful,' she whispered warmly. 'But now you seem utterly wondrous to me.'

Thranduil flushed. His cheeks went pink and so did his ears. That was something Phe had not expected. She held back a laugh and instead brushed her fingertips over his lips.

'You are only the second person to tell me that my lady. My life has been long.'

Phe put her head gently upon his chest and wrapped her arms around him.

'Am I only fun, my lord? Tell me truly. Are our kisses lust...or do we care?'

Thranduil smiled against the tip of her ear.

'Can it not be both?' he asked.

Phe thought and then she nodded.

'Of course it can.'

Thranduil plucked her hand up and felt her skin. She was warm and petal soft. She was everything he had been hoping for in all the time since he had admitted his secret desire to be wanted again.

_Perhaps she will let me_, he thought. _If she does how will I take her without hurting her back? I will have to wait. I cannot bear to hurt her._

'Phe...I wish to ask you a question but I am not sure you will want to talk about it.'

'What sort of question?' she tilted her head to gaze into his crystalline eyes. 'You can ask me whatever you wish, my lord. I do not think I will mind, since it is you.'

'I wonder what you remember of the night you fell? Legolas and I have searched for a witness and none can be found. What do you recall?'

Phe thought for a moment.

'I am not sure. It is a blur. Just fragments. Sometimes I dream of it but I cannot be sure what is real and what I have imagined. Some things from before, I know I have forgotten. I do not remember my journey here.'

Thranduil stroked her face gently. He looked as though the idea of losing ones memory truly upset him.

'Are you afraid, my lady?'

'Sometimes,' she whispered. 'I find I cannot remember the shape of my chambers at home. I do not recall my horses name, though I know she has one.'

'It is Maenith,' he gazed into her eyes, concerned.

'And yet I can recall almost everything from my time here. It is like the blow to my head took something from me. As if I have lost part of my life. One night I dreamed I had thrown hot water on my Father!'

Thranduil gazed at the stars in her eyes and whispered gently; 'I do not wish to upset you with details.'

'No, tell me,' Phe urged him. 'I would like to piece it together as much as you would like to hear of it!'

'He was treated for a scald to his face by my own healer, Duven.'

Phe looked very confused.

'You mean that I burned him? Why would I-' she stopped a moment, as if she was gazing into a memory. Then she went on quietly. 'I can see it suddenly. He struck me across the face like this,' she demonstrated with an open hand. 'And then again. I must have panicked.'

Thranduil searched her face but he sensed that Phe had gone into another world.

'Did you jump, my lady?' his voice dropped.

'No,' she shook her head but her eyes were absent and her face full of sudden, inexplicable misery. '_Ada_ was so angry with me. He said I must have done something to anger you! I ran and he-'

Phe clapped a hand over her mouth. Thranduil sense that she had just crumpled inside by how she whimpered. Perhaps this would be even more painful for her than her recovery.

'No,' Phe felt tears rising up her gullet. 'No, he would not._ No_,' she shook her head. She looked down at her hands. They were shaking._ 'No, no-'_

Then a gate opened deep in her mind and the truth surged up like an open maw. Thranduil tried to steady her but she tore away from him only to stagger into a tree trunk blindly. For a long minute she stood holding it like a lover. Her breath came so fast the King wondered if she might faint. Tears burst from her eyes with no warning and cascaded one after the other over her knuckles. Phe sank to the ground. The strength drained out of her as memory filled the gap where faith used to be. Thranduil grabbed her from behind. When she refused to stand he tugged her against his body and wrapped his arms around her.

Phe could hear something. Sobbing. Like a child. She had never heard her own voice make those noises.

'I will keep you safe,' he promised against her ear. 'I will keep him from you.'

Phe leaned her head against his neck. She was choking on pain.

'My lady,' he tried to extract a response from her but Phe did not see him. He slid his arms under her legs and back.

'Keep still,' he said to soothe his own fear of dropping her.

He disappeared into the caverns. By the time he reached Olerydes' chambers he was exhausted. A knock bought his daughter from her bed. When she saw the trembling wreck that was her friend she gaped in horror.

'What happened!' she cried, as Phe hid her face from both of them, only to be enfolded in Thranduil's arms and chest again.

'Help her,' he whispered. 'Olerydes. She has broken and I do not know how to fix her.'

**000**

Olerydes had done all she could in just a few minutes.

'_Ada_,' she touched her Father's folded arms. 'There is no cure for a broken heart.'

Thranduil glanced at his lady love, who had curled up defensively on her bed. She was rocking gently with her arms about her knees.

_She is ruined! She has broken as I broke when -_ his cheek tingled. _She has lost everything she loves! A part of her identity has been torn away as mine was **burned** away. And now she cannot find herself._

'_Ada,_ I can do no more. If she is to survive her grief she must find the courage and strength in her own heart. Or in yours.'

Thranduil drew her daughter into a warm hug and sent her to bed with his muffled thanks. When she had shut the door he approached the bed.

'Pephennas?' he tried.

She made no answer. Thranduil sat heavily on the edge and ran a hand through his hair.

'This is my doing,' he spoke softly. 'I should have left you be. It is in my nature to meddle. I cannot help myself! Where I see pain I must uncover it. Where I see a mask I must peek beneath. I am obsessed with what is hidden. It is supposed to be a gift. It helps me rule. It helps me find what elves hide, to discern what stupidity the dwarves hold secret! But with you it seems to cause untold pain.'

He leaned closer and took her hand gently in his. Phe offered no resistance but no response either.

'Forgive me, Pephennas. I am the architect of all your suffering. I refused to leave your pain alone.'

Thranduil moved onto the bed and enfolded her in his arms. Phe gripped is tunic so hard that he was sure she would tear the fabric. He cupped her face and kissed her lips softly.

'Do not leave me for the horrors of the past,' he begged her. She gave no response to his kiss or his touch. _'Please,_' he went on softly.

Thranduil tugged the bedcovers up. He arranged them so that she nestled between his arm and his ribs. Her tears wet his collarbone. She said nothing. Thranduil stroked her hair. Some time later he was almost asleep when she began to weep again. He looked down to find her eyes closed tightly and her body shaking.

'Come back to me,' he whispered, into her hair.

_Respond to me at least. Let me see that you hear me!_

Phe slept when she had finished crying and still she said nothing at all. For Thranduil it was a tense and restless night.

**000**

Thranduil woke with a crick in his neck from the headboard. He found Phe asleep on his chest. For a long time he gazed at her, reluctant to wake her when awakening would bring her such pain. His bladder reminded him of a pressing need, so gently he disentangled himself and left her curled up. Phe was trying to pretend she was sleeping but it was no good. Waking like this was like coming back to herself with a stomach full of acid. She hurt so much that she wanted sleep again. Thranduil returned to rub her shoulder blades but he found no response. Neither did Olerydes get much. They sent Duven in soon after that to try a more medical approach to her broken heart. Phe did not fight his hands or the tactile bridge he built between their minds. She was surprised when some of the pain flowed away and she felt some light relief but not even the healers magic could take away the memory or the pain that was causing.

Phe was sore from crying. She sat against the headboard on one of her pillows. When Thranduil came into the room to look at her she raised her gaze and met his.

'I have **not** lost my sanity!' she protested suddenly. She swung her legs off the bed and made to rise but Thranduil sprang forward and caught her. He pulled her into his arms. He sighed his relief into her hair and breathed something incomprehensible and beautiful against her face.

'I know! I did not think that for a minute,' he lied smoothly.

**000**

Thranduil leaned on his elbow. He had taken his crown off some time before. His hair tickled the back of his hand. He moved a piece on the board between he and Phe, and said;

'It is your move, _hiril vuin_.'

Her gaze was absently fixed upon the fire. Thranduil noticed afresh how very pale and wan she had become in the last few days. The incident in the bedroom had been tactfully forgotten. Thranduil had skirted around all mention of her small breakdown. So far he had found ignoring her weakness was working quite well. He had not spent a single night alone since. Phe was a quiet sleeper and a warm body but he found her entirely uninspiring in the intimate sense when she was so distressed. He had not mentioned the way she clung to him in her sleep either, like a child on the verge of breakdown.

Phe had attended the evenings talks and games with Thranduil and his children but he sensed she was only going through the motions of her life. Deep in his heart, he was worried.

'My lady,' he said softly. Phe barely stirred._ 'Pephennas!'_

He touched the back of her hand and she came back with a start and stared at him. She offered him a smile but there was little joy in it. Phe pushed a piece forward and then looked at the board as if she had made a mistake.

'Oh. I thought that would win it but I moved the wrong one,' she sat back. 'So much for my strategy. I think the wine has gotten to me.'

_It is not the wine, it is the grief._

He glanced at the chaise where Legolas had fallen asleep, drunk, with his boots on. Olerydes had retired early and Lilia rarely stuck around for long, preferring her solitude. He wondered if she found solace in silence, like her Father. _It is hard to tell when she shares so little,_ he thought in frustration.

From time to time Phe would lose focus and gaze out of the window longingly, perhaps fancying she looked towards home.

'I think you may still beat me yet,' he said. He poured her another glass of wine. 'Drink _hiril vuin_.'

Thranduil sighed through his nose. He gathered up his hair and rearranged it to fall over one shoulder. He folded his hands on the table and looked at her.

'It was **not** your fault.'

'_Please_, my lord-' she whispered, as if the very mention of it was enough to cause her to break all over again.

'He was not well in his mind.'

Phe did not want to talk about it. Whenever her mind went back to the push from the platform, her heart broke all over again. How could she ever face her Father now? And without her family, what was she except a widow from a distant land? With no rank and little honour, as Caduven would say.

'Excuse me,' she breathed, before her tears could drag her down into the pit of desperation which was lurking, barely controlled, below her calm facade. Phe fled to where there was cold fresh air. The balcony jutted over the palace gardens and Thranduil's open pool. She had thought she might enjoy the view but looking down only served to remind her of her fall. Suddenly, tears were coursing down her cheeks and she was sobbing, helpless to control herself. It felt as if the darkness had risen from her mind, its ugly, hot mouth yawning wide to swallow her whole, stripping away her security and replacing the just and true version of the world with a much darker reality.

Phe leaned on the twisting trunk of a smooth tree which wound up past her head and arched over the window. It was cool and flaky. She shut her eyes and tried to disappear into the wood and stone. She was no fool. She knew that no amount of trying would erase her memory. Even now she could feel the blind panic of that moment. The hard shove and then the weightless, awful inertia. She recalled a moment of childish hope in which she had thought; _perhaps I just miscalculated. The floor will catch me in a moment._

Then the rush of wind through her hair and gown. She would have done anything to stop the fall and then afterwards, anything to stop the _pain_.

Phe was horrified when Thranduil joined her on the balcony, his robe a rustle of expensive silk and his shadow tall and broad. She hid her face in the winding roots.

'Show me your tears,' he caught both her hands and drew her into his embrace. '_Show me,_' he insisted.

Phe acquiesced but she could not bear to look him in the eyes. What at last she managed to meet his gaze she saw that his mask had worn thin, his normal presence diminished. Thranduil's clothes rustled gently.

'You still live,' he whispered. 'Do not waste this chance!'

'I will **not** forgive him,' she spat, so vehemently that she was surprised by her own anger. 'And I will not go home! I will live in a cottage. I will build it myself if I must.'

'You will always be welcome in my halls,' Thranduil said. 'To your Father, I will not extend the same courtesy. You may stay here, under my protection.'

Phe did not know what to say or do. Phe was not so foolish as to think that Lord Caduven would simply release her into the world, unmarried and unprotected. Thranduil held onto her tightly and the hair he had draped over his shoulder was as soft as a silk pillow under her cheek.

Thranduil rubbed the base of her neck reassuringly. Phe was falling apart inside. She avoided his eyes for fear that he would see right through her pain and force it up to the surface. How he had such insight she would never guess but it frightened her, the way he wielded it with the uncanny accuracy of a doctors blade.

How could she hope to explain how this felt? How utterly betrayed, how terrified she was? To stay would be to incur the wrath of her Father but if she went home, would he try again to kill her in his anger? Phe had never had much time for the weeping, fainting weaklings that some ladies seemed to be. Now she began to feel like one of them, as for the second time in a week her legs buckled and all the strength flowed out of her backbone and into the ground.

Thranduil made a noise of surprise but he held her up until he could get her to a seat. Once she was on the chaise by the window, he sat beside her and took her hand. Phe found some strength in his eyes but it was not enough to solve her problem, nor to rearrange her world into the vision of innocence that had so recently been ruined. Thranduil rubbed her skin with his thumb, making little circles that were comforting after a while simply because they were predictable in their speed and style. Phe felt the seconds tick by and her mind regain some of its control.

His body was warm and his hands were the only solid thing between Phe and her nightmares. 'It was a crime, what was done. One I would try him for, if I but had a witness.'

Then her throat closed around her words and she choked; 'He meant to _kill_ me!'

Phe was not sure if she had fallen asleep or fainted. When she opened her eyes it was still dark and she felt quite sick. Thranduil had put her head in his lap and he was humming a soft tune as he stroked her hair. Phe blinked blearily at him, as lost as a baby bird on the grass.

'My lady, this subject saps your strength and torments you. Do not speak of it again, I will not pry further,' he said.

Thranduil reached for a bottle and she heard something being poured into a glass. He handed her a drink and helped her to sit.

Phe drank a long gulp of it and sighed.

'_Goheno nin_, my lord,' she searched his eyes for forgiveness.

Thranduil's mask melted. He frowned.

'Enough of these apologies. I tire of hearing them and of hearing you so be sorry to be who you are. Do not apologise to me anymore, let me live without hearing them!'

His tone was a short, sharp surprise and Phe found some strength in his predictability. She sipped whatever fiery, burning drink he had given her. It went swiftly to her head and began to dance across her brain. It bought a little relief.

Thranduil envisioned a cottage in the woods and a woman growing vegetables in her little garden. He imagined a good husband and three or four bouncing children. Before she could sink into a second shock, he shook her shoulder playfully.

'Stay with me, will you? It is like dealing with the shell-shocked!'

_She is shell-shocked. She may faint again yet. But maybe playfulness or even sternness will distract her._

Phe caught his smile and realised he was playing with her.

'Alphiel, would be your name, if you consented to stay in the Greenwood. We will call you Phe, for short and you would leave behind your old name and become like a maid again. As your King it falls to me to protect your life. If you had come to me to plead sanctuary I would have given it. You will be protected by my kin and by your new family. Your Father may shout and scream at me but he has little say in this.'

Phe stared at him in shock. 'You mean to _rename_ me? You _mean_ it?'

'Yes. Of course,' Thranduil nodded. 'A King is entitled to judge his subjects, just as he can forgive and erase what they have been.'

Phe swigged the drink and let it burn all the way down. She gazed into the glass, as if humour might save her a second fainting fit.

'I think I need to obtain a bottle of this.'

'It will cost you,' he smiled softly.

'I do not know what to say to you. You have freed me. You must know that my Father will not allow this-'

'I am the law, my lady, but in this case I do not need to rewrite it. It is unlikely a challenge would hold. So you are free! I am more than pleased to have been the architect of it.'

'I would not have expected so much.'

Thranduil leaned forward, his glass empty and said, 'Accept my gift, Alphiel. _Swan-maid._ And we will speak no more of the darkness of your past unless you wish it.'

Phe caught his hand.

'Thank you,' she whispered with her eyes full of tears. Then she leaned forward and kissed his cheek softly. Thranduil ran a hand gently up her arm to enjoy her soft, warm skin.

'Thank you,' she whispered again.

'Do not break your familial ties completely, my lady. At least, not with those who still wish you to know them.'

**000**

From the roof Phe could see a mile of sloping canopy, bare of leaves but not of webs. The distant sun was making its last, slow motion plunge into the Earth, taking with it the sound of birdsong. The stars began their emergence with the brightest first. Soon they were joined by shier constellations. Phe had a bird's-eye view of the patios and gardens and a step away from the edge, the river cut fast and deep through a great chasm, swollen with Winter rainfall. A darkness had taken hold in her heart and would not let go.

She gazed into the darkening sky. What a beautiful night it was going to be. Much like the night she had arrived. Phe had not come here to sit and eye her own death. More to wonder why she had been thinking about it so much. Hopelessness weighed heavy on her. She felt that soon her Father would call her home and then a second heartbreak would certainly finish her off, even if a jump from here did not.

Far below, Leesha stopped playing and looked up. Gwenthel hung by one tatty arm. She tugged at Olerydes' gown and pointed.

'Pephennas!' Olerydes yelled. She did not need to be told what Phe was doing. She grabbed Leesha by both arms. 'Leesha, fetch _Ada_. Now, go! _Go!_ Tell him Pephennas is going to jump!'

Alarmed, Leesha did as she was told. Olerydes throat filled with tears. They bubbled up and over as her brother's horse skidded to a halt behind her. He had heard her yell. He slid from his horse. Olerydes had feared something like this. In the last few weeks Phe had been quiet and distant despite all their efforts.

'Phe,' Legolas whispered, for his keen eyes had spotted her proximity to the river gorge. Olerydes turned to him with her eyes full of tears.

'Make her stop!' she sobbed.

Legolas sat off at a run, into the caverns. Olerydes assumed he was dashing up the stairs.

_Why now? __Why now when all I can do is stand here!?_

Before she could breathe again it was Thranduil, not Legolas who appeared in one of the upper windows. His hair picked up in the wind.

_'No,_ my Phe,' Olerydes breathed into her clasped hands._ 'Please.'_

Thranduil climbed out of the window. A moment later he was joined by Legolas who crept toward Phe with both hands out in a gesture of peace. Phe curled up in pain and edged away from them both. Olerydes' mind ran wild with a thousand scenarios, each as heartbreaking as the last.

Phe glanced down. A crowd had already gathered on the patio. The river churned over itself, an endless bubbling cauldron and a certain demise to any but the strongest and luckiest of swimmers. _One step and it is over._ For a moment she leaned in.

_I have lost my hope_._ Why not do it?_

In the days after the recovery of her memory, the pain of her Father's betrayal had eroded her self control and taken her will to live. Before she could step toward the river however, fresh tears burst up her throat and blinded her.

Olerydes cry was lost to the wind. Leesha was sobbing with Gwenthel up under her chin. Olerydes gestured to her and the girl came wandering, lost a little soul to hug her legs.

Thranduil's blood was running colder than the north wind.

'Stop her,' he hissed at Legolas.

Legolas nodded to him, as if to say,_ if I had that power, she would be safe already._ He could see how desperate his Father was, so he tried to be comforting. Suddenly he wished he had longer arms. Thranduil's unsteady breathing hinted at some connection Legolas was not privy to.

_If it is love then it is even more important that she not jump! He needs a wife, not another corpse to bury. Another funeral will probably kill him. _

Thranduil's fingers tightened on Legolas' arm, hinting at desperation.

'Thranduil-' Phe whispered. Legolas saw her love playing in her eyes and knew the truth.

He was struck suddenly by how beautiful Phe was. He thought it no wonder that Thranduil had chosen her. She was lovely, but more importantly, she was young, foolish and innocent and far too dependent on her emotions for security. She was everything Thranduil had long grown out of. Legolas loved her for these qualities too. Phe did not see her own innocence, which made her sweet and funny. She was the first woman Thranduil had welcomed into his private life since Haliel's death and therefore she was more precious to Legolas than all the gold in Erebor. A glance at his Father found the ghosts of tears shining in his eyes. Legolas stood shocked and horrified. If Thranduil was ready to cry then all his strength had failed him. If he broke, Legolas did not know where he would find his strength.

'Give me your hands,' Legolas turned to face her. '_Please_ Phe. Your hands.'

Phe took an involuntary step backwards.

_It is power, the chance to end your own life is **power!** I have been given mine and I am a fool to waste it! They will chain me to my sickbed, or lock me in a tower to preserve my life, but what is worth preserving?_

A slate gave way under her foot and tumbled for the ground. For a minute everyone stood so still they could have been statues in cloth.

'Thranduil-' she choked, in desperation.

'Come to me,' Thranduil held out his hand.

A small movement in her legs and Thranduil commanded instantly;_** 'Stop.'**_

If he had nothing left he had his authority. Phe was so used to taking commands from her Father that she obeyed him because of the tone of his voice.

'Your hand,' he ordered her. His composure snapped. '**NOW!**' he insisted, in a tone that would have sent his aides scurrying and his children into hiding.

_'Please,_ Phe,' Legolas began to creep closer. 'Do not make us lose you. We need you here. We love you, Phe.'

Phe was shaking. The drop suddenly seemed taller, the river more deadly. Reality slammed home and she began to quake.

_I am going to die_.

She felt faint. She was blinded by her tears. For a moment she thought she might actually try one last, desperate lunge for the water but then a strong hand grabbed her wrist and hauled her away from the edge. As she went she stumbled, sending a flurry of rubble down to the small crowd below. Somebody screamed.

Thranduil grabbed the back of Phe's neck in a gesture that was entirely possessive. He drove her toward the window and pushed her inside. Once they were in the warmer dark he pressed her hard against the wall. His solid body filled her vision and forced her compliance. His eyes were so angry that Phe thought she might never see the light of day again. He seized her chin with rough fingers made unsteady by fear. He seemed about to speak, his teeth white and his eyes wild and furious.

He looked far angrier than Lord Caduven could ever manage. It was so frightening that Phe started to tremble. She felt like a tree waiting for the lightning. Then Thranduil put his face against hers. His skin was cold and wet. She was not sure if they were her tears or his. She found herself crying anyway. Then the King hit the wall so hard that the finish cracked. Phe gave a choked yelp. He tore away from her and was gone in a rush of expensive robes. Phe stood in silent shock until Legolas came to help her. She stared after Thranduil, her heart in her throat, wondering if she had ruined everything before it could even begin.

_Why does it hurt so much? Will it ever end? I have never felt so tired._

* * *

_Translations_

_Forgive me/Sorry - Goheno nin_

_My Lady - Hiril Vuin _

_My lord - Hir vuin_


	9. The Broad, Cold Sky

_Translations_

_Forgive me/Sorry - Goheno nin_

_My Lady - Hiril Vuin _

_My lord - Hir vuin_

_My love - Meleth nin_

_I love you - __Gi melin_

* * *

_**8 - The Broad, Cold Sky**_

'What were you doing!' Legolas' brow was furrowed.

Phe had never seen the prince angry. He was not as intimidating as his Father. Before he could ask her any more questions, Olerydes waddled up behind him and pulled him back.

'Leave her be,' she commanded. 'Do you think chastising her will help? You are no counselor. Go and get something to drink!'

Legolas huffed at her insistence but went. Olerydes slid onto the seat beside Phe and put an arm around her shoulders.

'I was worried you might try this. If _Ada_ did the same to me, I think I would too. But you have been given a new name! You can stay here in the Greenwood with us. Phe, why would you try to kill yourself now that you have hope?'

Phe closed her eyes slowly, as though the energy taken to keep them open was simply too much.

'It is a feeling,' she whispered.

Olerydes nodded.

'So is_ love_,' she whispered. 'Is there noone here you love?'

Phe finally looked into Olerydes eyes. She nodded.

'Yes,' she whispered. 'But I will not be allowed to stay. When my Father finds out he will _kill_ me.'

Olerydes pressed her lips together in thought.

'Your Father is not your Father anymore,' she said.

'He will always be my Father. A new name does not change that.'

'Legally it does,' she said. 'We will not let him take you by force.'

Phe stared at the carpet.

_What must I do now? I am afraid to defy Ada, but I am more afraid to be without Thranduil! _

Phe thought of the King, of his anger and his gentle hands and his kind heart, hidden under layers of duty and expectation. _I have ruined everything with my stupidity!_

'Dearest?' Olerydes touched Phe's neck gently. 'Is this about _Ada_?'

Phe shook her head but she dissolved into tears. Olerydes only nodded and drew her into an embrace. Phe collapsed into her arms and began to sob, uncaring that Legolas was just behind them holding a bottle of wine, looking stricken. After a while he turned and left, apparently at a loss as for how to deal with Phe's deeper emotions. Olerydes stroked her hair and kissed her temple softly. Phe was reminded terribly of her Mother's unconditional love. Suddenly she missed Faendis terribly.

**000**

Legolas arrived home late in the afternoon, damp from a ride in the rain, sweaty and in need of a bath. Instead he went to see Olerydes, who pulled him into a quiet spot and whispered;

'_Ada_ is so unhappy. He has been in his study all day long! Even Leesha is asking where he is! Listen. I have an idea.'

When she explained it, Legolas shook his head.

'I am not sure they need any help,' he said reluctantly.

'What makes you say that?'

'I saw them kissing.'

'This will help. Go and tell _Ada_ that Phe wants to talk to him. I will tell Phe that he is gravely ill.'

'Olerydes, _no_-'

'It is just a little push,' she smiled confidently.

**000**

Phe wrung her hands at the door to Thranduil's study.

_Those liars! He is not ill. I should have known Olerydes would try something like this!_

Thranduil glared at her as if she had personally insulted him.

_Perhaps I have!_

For a minute she thought he might throw her out but then he said, dangerously;

'Shut the door.'

She padded into the awful silence where only the scratching of his pen disturbed the quiet. She went to the _Ungol_ tank to take a look at Daeben, who was sleeping in her web. Then she stood gazing at him.

_Reassure me,_ she prayed. _Do not be angry with me. Please, please do not be angry. I need you!  
_

Then Thranduil stood and crossed the room. From a hook on the wall he pulled his own traveling cloak. He strode back to her. Phe held her ground on faith alone.

'I did not really mean to jump-' she finally said.

'I do not care!' he hissed. He bent so that his face occupied her vision. He pushed the cloak into her hands. His fingers brushed hers and sent a jolt of need down her spine. 'You will find a will to live, you_ selfish fool_, or you will _get out!_'

His voice echoed in the silent office. Phe felt as though all the strength had gone out of her spine. She fled in terror. She made it to the door, blinded by tears and managed to get through it despite the fact no part of her body would coordinate itself. She even managed to reach a place to sit before she lost her legs. The door to his study remained resolutely shut after the initial bang.

_I could strangle her! Was a stupid, selfish waste of life! I will not reward her for this **childishness!**_

Thranduil hid his tears behind his hand. As soon as he could he bit them back and sank again into his chair. His hands trembled. If he had been a low born elf he might have gone after her. There were things a King could not do and chasing a weeping lady was one of them.

**000**

That night, Phe was reacquainted with a broken heart. She wept bitterly, taking strength from Olerydes presence. Then the older girl broke into tears herself and confessed her involvement. Phe escaped for a day and a night to a disused room where everything was covered with sheets. Olerydes found her by candlelight on the first evening and begged her forgiveness but Phe locked the door and refused to let her in.

Phe drew the dusty covering off the bed and slept on a pink comforter. She cried so much that the pillow was sodden when she was done and her eyes were sore. His rejection hurt more than Phe had anticipated. She ate nothing until the second afternoon when she dragged herself unwillingly down to the kitchen and asked Salla to make her a sandwich.

Soon after, Olerydes bought dinner up to her and again asked for her forgiveness. She seemed so contrite and Phe was so exhausted that she gave it. Phe did not see the King again for some time. His absence hurt.

**000**

Phe spent a lot of time with Olerydes in the days that followed. They sat together in their chambers, mending their trust. They talked and sewed and played with Leesha. They taught her to weave and then set up a target across the room. It turned out that Leesha was much better with an arrow than she was with a needle. She had a natural affinity for balance and distance which Olerydes intended to communicate to their Father as soon as possible, for if Leesha could master a bow they need all worry less for the girls safety.

An aide bought up a basket and Olerydes fished about and bought out a parcel of herbs. She started making tea with them and made sure Phe drank at least three of them every day. If Phe was honest, she soon came to hate the taste but still Olerydes brewed the foul concoction and made her drink, until one day Phe woke up feeling _bright._

She rose slowly, her head a bit light. She looked at herself in the mirror as though she had not seen her own truth for a long time. An aide had come in daily to brush and braid her hair but so rarely did Phe gaze into the glass herself. She had certainly avoided seeing how thin she had gotten and how her eyes were perpetually ringed with dark circles. She pushed her hair back and looked now. The dark circles were gone. She bent to touch her toes and the pain was nothing but a dull ache to remind her of her fall. She stepped onto the balcony, this time it was to feel the suns warmth.

The first Spring sun fell on the empty window boxes and hinted at the end of Winter. The first warm breeze caught her gown and blew it softly about her bare legs. Phe smiled at the sun.

She could see Anion below. It was still early but he was already on his horse. Legolas was beside him and he was giving the boy a lesson in his bow. A few minutes later they wheeled about and took off together into the woods.

Phe put on a shawl and went downstairs.

The grass was cold under her bare feet and moist with the passage of a thousand mucous creatures. The few plants which could survive the winter struggled on, their thick leaves tired from a season of extracting goodness from air and frost. She trod lightly over them. She went across the pond on the round stepping stones. Little ripples spread from their base, hinting that years of alternating hot and cold had weakened them. Phe found fish sleeping under a sheet of ice that was fast melting.

The sun warmed her face while the wind chilled her bones. It was good to feel the air on her skin and in her hair. She gazed at the early spring sky, in all its arching splendour. It reminded her of the colour of his eyes. Phe felt a stab of sadness at the thought of him and she regretted all that had passed between them on the roof.

Phe was laying upon his cloak on the damp grass when a foot landed near her head. She turned and there was Thranduil, his hair braided over one shoulder. He wore nothing but a casual overcoat and a pair of leggings. He folded his arms. Phe sensed his anger had diminished slightly, for which she was very grateful.

'The sun drew me outside,' she said as she sat up slowly. Thranduil saw what she had lain on and remembered the circumstances in which he had given it to her. 'It is so warm, I think the Winter has finally passed. My lord? Does it not gladden your heart?'

'It does,' he said. 'But not so much as your smile. It has been too long, _hiril vuin_.'

Phe felt ashamed. Feeling better in herself had made her reflect on how close she had come to the end of her life. Her tears tried to rise but this time it was because of how she felt about Thranduil. She had begun to feel as if he might not love her because of her foolishness.

'_Goheno nin_, my lord. I did not mean to hurt you,' she whispered.

Thranduil seemed to accept that with the bow of his head. Then he said;

'My lady, will you take a walk with me?'

He took her toward the forest. The bracken poked at her ankles, the pine needles stuck between her toes. Thranduil walked slowly and for some time he was silent until at last he stopped beside a rushing stream. He turned to gaze at her beauty.

'The darkness is rising again, my lady. We who are elf-kind must face that which has been bought forth by men and dwarves. The dragon wakes in the mountain. I feel his breath in my sleep!'

'What are you saying, my lord? Is there to be another battle?'

Thranduil watched the birds. They fluttered excitedly from branch to branch, welcoming the first rays of spring and promise of a decent meal.

'Always I have tried to protect my family and my Kingdom by avoiding the foolish troubles of men. This time I may not have that choice.'

Phe put her hand on his arm softly.

_He is warm, just like I remember him. He even smells the same! I have missed him until it hurts_!

Thranduil smiled at her. It seemed he lost a bit of his edge to her touch.

'Will you fight, then?' she asked.

'If Sauron brings his evil to my borders, I will. Soon our time on these shores will be over and the last of the elves will sail or perish.'

Phe nodded.

'I feel it too. It is as if the very Earth is telling us, it is almost time.'

He laid a hand on the trunk of a great tree and gazed into the bare branches. He smiled.

'I am at home here. The forest is a part of me. It is my very blood. If I should fall I would like to return here to my rest.'

Phe moved a bit closer and laid her head on his arm.

'Do not fall, my lord.'

Thranduil's crystalline gaze fell back to Earth and settled on her face. Then he opened his arms and wrapped them about her waist. He laid his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes.

'I should not have been so harsh,' he admitted softly. 'When you needed me I was not there. To take your life is the most grievous crime, but I can see now that it was desperation that lead you there.'

Phe buried her nose in his shoulder. Her tears wet his coat.

'I did not mean to hurt you-' she whispered, her voice small. 'I do not know why I went up there! I did not mean to do it!'

Thranduil caught her face and kissed her softly on the lips. He rested his forehead on her temple and sighed softly.

'I thought you would never speak to me again,' Phe choked. She could not stop her fingers seeking the warmth of his skin.

The King enfolded her in a fierce hug and said;

'I was angry. I could not bear to lose you.'

She made a noise like a choked sob and gathered herself to speak.

'I will not do it again. I swear. Will you forgive me? I missed you so much!'

Thranduil's lids fluttered against her temple. He caressed her cheek with reassuring fingers and nodded.

'Forgive _me_,' he said softly. 'I did_ not_ mean to abandon you.'

Phe nodded quickly and reached for his collar and draw him in for a kiss. She smiled against his mouth. For a long time Thranduil remained with his backside against the tree and Phe in his arms. He took the time to touch her neck and ears with light fingertips, as though he was trying to know the hidden parts of her. He placed a soft kiss on the tip of her nose and smiled when she laughed.

'It is good to hear you laugh,' he said.

'I know. It is strange to my ears still. But welcome!'

'Come with me,' he said. 'I have something to show you.'

He lead her into the woods. It took some time to reach the clearing and more than once he lead her through tunnels and passageways in the rock. She wondered if they were in the Greenwood or still within the caves of Sindaroth.

Then she saw it; a tree whose twisting boughs circled a knotted core, whose spiral shape pointed upward like a spear. Its wood was almost white and so were its leaves. Phe was not sure if the glow that emanated from it was real, or just a trick of her eyes. Thranduil's hands were warm as he pulled her closer to touch the twisted trunk.

'I have not been here in an age,' he said reverently.

'Why not?'

'I have lost my faith,_ hiril vuin,' _he confessed.

He laid his hand over hers and closed his eyes. Phe was not sure what to expect but then a warmth raced up her arm and opened a door in her mind. Images flooded in; the living memories of light and voices. Suddenly she felt as though she was looking down on a thousand years of the Greenwood elves.

Permeating every particle of dust and stone, every strand of hair, every heart and body, every tree, was a field of life that thrummed so loudly Phe almost wrenched her hand away in fright. It faded into a heartbeat which became two, intertwined. She understood. Two as one who lived half within each other. It was the way of the oldest elves, who knew how to meld two souls together.

Then she saw Thranduil's. His cheek had been melted away by a great fire. He lay on a bed in bandages and refused all but the healer's aid.

A flash of light bought the sound of a child to her ears. Then the tree was silent.

Thranduil opened his eyes. Phe gazed at his cheek, wondering how he had remained so beautiful after so terrible an injury.

'I know what you saw.'

'Thranduil, I-I saw them! Two elves that came here in the ancient times. Like a mother and father...they became the forest. They still live! They faded and became the trees!'

Thranduil smiled then, more to himself.

'Yes, they live. Within the tree and within all that is connected to the tree. All the soil and the little creatures that go crawling on their bellies,' he looked at the great, white oak and smiled. Phe slid her hand into his and smiled at him.

'How can you lose your faith when you see such things?'

'I doubt their reasons,' he said. 'That is all.'

'I was taught there was one great God, a god of starlight,' she said. 'But_ they_ feel like Gods too, like protectors and creators of this place.'

'Maybe there are many,' he conceded, running his fingers gently down the bark. 'Come, my lady. I have something else to show you.

**000**

A long walk bought them to the enchanted cavern. Thranduil pushed aside the hanging ivy and lead her inside to the sweet scent of fresh grass and flowers. It was summer and the birds were singing. It was so warm that Phe took off her borrowed cloak and laughed.

'What is this place!' she caught one of his hands. She saw how their fingers intertwined, both fair and smooth. His were much larger and now she thought about it, quite calloused too.

_The hands of a warrior, not an artist like Rosdaer!_

'There is magic yet in the Greenwood,' he said.

Thranduil felt a warm breeze stir his hair and breathed in deeply, delighted to feel the summer again, even if it was only by magic.

'I would not have believed in magic before this!' Phe said.

She caught his gaze and saw that something had reminded him of an old pain. His smile faded and he gazed at her hand within his. Then, silently he had her sit upon a patch of grass and moss.

'Thranduil?' she scooted closer to touch his bare wrists. 'What is it? You look like you have seen a ghost!'

'An old secret,' he finally said softly. 'Once you said you wish to know me as Thranduil. Do you still wish it?'

'Yes,' Phe whispered. 'But what can be so bad that you must look so pained!'

Thranduil's smile was crisp. He remembered clearly the pain and his shame and terror on returning home to Haliel as half a man.

_My own arrogance and stupidity!_

'Has Anion showed you Daeben yet?' he asked.

'Yes. I admit he nearly frightened me to death! She is very fast. I confess I have no idea how you did it. He says you tamed her for him.'

Thranduil nodded shallowly.

'It is a gift. My children have it from me as I inherited it from Oropher. One day I will teach Legolas how to use it and then he too will have command of the woodland. It is a great responsibility. It is not for our entertainment. It is to protect our kin and our home.'

Phe guessed.

'And...your face has something to do with it, I suppose?'

'_Everything_ to do with it,' he said. 'Once, in the folly of youth, an overconfident elf decided that he would claim back his ancient heritage and attempt to bind a dragon. Once in the North he found a serpent, the last, great serpent. The King of Dragons, only he, reasoned the young King, was a suitable conquest. But the dragon's will was stronger. When he broke free of my control he turned on me and burned away my face.'

Phe stared at him.

'But you look whole?'

'A mirage, _hiril vuin_, nothing more. For my vanity.'

Phe nodded, her breath coming shorter, panic rising.

'You will not want to see me,' he said.

'You fear my disgust,' Phe grasped his hand. His face was as unguarded as a child's.

'I am afraid to look,' she admitted. 'You give me strength! If I see you wounded...I think it will break my heart.'

Thranduil smiled.

'That is a mistake my son makes too. I am not invulnerable, my princess.'

Phe did not really want to believe that.

'Show me?' she said finally. To refuse would hurt him. Phe was afraid to look but more afraid to hurt him so.

Phe had been hoping she would be calm and gaze adoringly into his face as Olerydes would have done, unafraid and endlessly compassionate for all his suffering. She wanted to give him all the strength he seemed to lack in this, but when his cheek melted away, she looked away in cold fear. She might have handled his open cheek, the pink tendon, the flash of his teeth, but his single, white blind eye made her sick and dizzy and cold. She tried so hard to push those feelings down and see him for who he was. Suddenly her illusion was shattered. The mighty King was a collection of lies and mirages. She was almost disappointed in him, almost _angry_. Thranduil caught her chin and bought her face up. She hid behind her closed lids, too afraid to look.

'Why am I so different with a wound than I am when I am beautiful?' he breathed. 'Do you not love me after all, my princess?'

His soft humour masked a deeper pain. She could hear his insecurity. Phe broke. She opened her eyes and there was the blind eye and the ruined face, but half of him was still whole. That seemed to symbolise the two people he was forced to be. She looked, her eyes full of tears and then finding that it was not so bad after a while, she lifted a hand to see if it was real. He caught it.

'Be gentle,' he said. 'It still pains me.'

He let her go. Phe's fingertips danced along the edge of his scar. Then she touched the pink tendon lightly and saw that this was no illusion. Her fingertip sunk into his cheek. The tendon gave. It was very warm and more delicate than skin.

_It is real! God, I feel I will be sick!_

'Why does it not heal?' she whispered, to mask her terror.

'Dragonfire destroys immortal flesh,' he said. 'It cannot mend.'

Phe looked away from the bubbled flesh and the rucked and crumpled skin.

'Forgive me,' she whispered. 'I _do_ love you. One wound will not change that!'

Thranduil gazed at her. Phe saw sadness in his eyes.

'You called me a liar,' she finally whispered. 'You said _I_ wear a mask!'

Thranduil had the decency to dip his head.

'_Goheno nin,_ my love. I was remiss to speak to you so.'

She went warm at his endearment.

'Yes, you were,' she chided him, but it was becoming playful. 'You find me half a woman, as I find you half a face!' she teased.

He smiled. 'You feel whole to me,' he leaned in to take her by the waist.

When she glanced at him in surprise and fear he said gently, 'Do not fear me. You did not fear me before and you will not in five minutes time, when I have kissed you and proved that I am whole in all the important ways.'

Phe laughed to cover her nervousness. 'A mind so filthy as yours should not be contained as you keep it!'

Thranduil pecked her cheek. His flesh was as soft as she was accustomed to and he was warm and lovely as ever. Phe closed her eyes. She could feel the strange texture of his ruined face. The bubbled skin was actually very soft. Phe had expected the injury to be slimy or otherwise cool and unpleasant but it was warm and dry. She opened her eyes to look on him and let him softly kiss her lips. His eyelid fluttered so sweetly over his ruined eye.

_He is still Thranduil! Still my Thranduil! Oh Valar, he is beautiful, and so brave!  
_

'I think I am used to it now,' she said.

He breathed a shaky sigh of relief and buried his face in her hair. She put her hands in his hair and whispered her own confession.

'I am not whole either, my lord. Inside I am broken and torn. Still grieving. Rosdaer was my escape. When he died I was forced to return to my Father, who since has used me for politics and never once asked me how I fare.'

'I am certain he loves you,' Thranduil said warmly.

'I hardly care to find out any more,' Phe lied.

'He wounded you,' Thranduil put a hand gently between her breasts, over her heart. 'In here, where there is little medicine to be had except time and patience and perhaps the love of another. I understand. My Father fought with his softness all his life, as he fought with the _weakness_ inside me. The long years since his death have taught me that my strength lies in honesty with myself, in breaking down what was taught to me, what fetters me. But that is my own wisdom gained from experience and it does not heal the boy inside me, who still longs for _Ada's_ approval.'

Phe gazed into his ruined face.

_It seems as if he is more himself now! As if the constant fear of discovery had lead him to be guarded. I will accept him and ensure he knows it, then perhaps he will be so sweet with me all the time!_

'Now I see your truth I find you more yourself than ever before,' she smiled.

A moment later his face mended itself. Phe touched him and found him whole. She brushed her soft fingers down his cheek.

'How beautiful you are, my lord.'

He tugged her down and had her curl up beside him, in the crook of his arm, with her head on his chest.

'Thranduil? I want to stay here and build a little cottage right there!' she pointed to the stream.

'I will build you one.'

'You? With these hands or with the hands of an aide, O King?' She teased him by picking up one of his limp hands and inspecting his palms. 'Soft, for a builder.'

'Such a clever mouth you have. I will show you what I can do when I am stripped of silk and titles!'

'Mmm,' Phe hummed against his jaw. 'I do not know about titles but I should like to see you stripped of silk.'

Thranduil closed the gap and took her mouth gently with his. Phe wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him enthusiastically. He gave an appreciative moan when she squeezed his backside and he pushed his hips into her warmth.

'Please-' she whimpered. 'Thranduil!'

He put a hand under her gown to squeeze her thigh and his nose to her throat to smell her skin and taste her vein. She smelled of Jasmine. He had always loved Jasmine most of all. Phe wrapped her arms around him in silent encouragement. He was warm and solid and heavier than Rosdaer.

He sighed softly when she played with his hair and drew his favourite mithril circlet off his head. She put it down gently behind her and smoothed his warm, soft hair back off his face. He popped her thumb into his mouth and played with it with his tongue. The unexpected result was a sudden shift in her hips. She pressed her face into his neck, her breaths coming faster and hotter under his collar.

Her fingers were shaking. She managed to unbutton his overcoat anyway and slid a hand beneath to touch his shoulders. He made a noise and shrugged it off. It fell over them like a blanket. He eased her legs apart gently and pressed his hips suggestively into hers, a tempting hint at what he wanted to do. Phe pressed back. She wanted nothing more than to follow these kisses with the real thing. Just the thought of his naked body against hers after all this time was enough to make her so wet she was soaking through her undergarments.

_I hope he finds them sodden,_ she thought. _I would like to see his face when he sees how wet I am!_

She licked his ear and tangled her hands in his hair.

'Oh, yes!' she breathed involuntarily, when his fingers brushed over her thigh toward her core. She knew he would find her willing and ready.

Thranduil was shaking. He was more nervous than he had imagined likely for an elf his age. He wondered if the tree had done something to him, made him more vulnerable, opened his heart somehow. Her little sighs and encouragements were going straight to his groin but he was almost afraid to touch her in case he hurt her_._ Then Phe began peeling off his shirt and tugging it out of the waist of his leggings to put her hot little hands underneath to touch his belly.

'Your touch is perfect!' he moaned.

He took her mouth with a renewed vigor and enjoyed her moan of enjoyment. Phe tossed his shirt in the same direction as his crown and then she was touching him, her fingers warm and eager. She squeezed him and rubbed the little spots where she found tight muscles and made him relax in a way that few other women had ever done. When his body had gone as limp as a bonefish, she sucked his ear and made him want more than a good rub down, and _soon_. He was so hard that it was straining at his leggings and he wanted nothing more than to free his member and rub it against her warmth. He remembered how eagerly she had sucked him and thought that he would happily have debased himself in a hundred ways to get her to do it again.

He made a noise when he found her silk wet through. He ran his fingertips over the evidence of her arousal. His breath came shorter, his eyes dark with desire. With eager hands he pulled them down her thighs and slid his fingers up to find her center, to rub it as he had done the first night. Phe_ whimpered_ when he brushed a fingertip through her wetness to tease her entrance and she rocked her hips and grabbed his arms, begging for more.

Thranduil rubbed her sensitive spot slowly. She sighed warmly into his jaw and opened her mouth to nibble his bare throat. He started when she bit him and moaned she she soothed it with her tongue. His rhythm broke and Phe sat up slowly to push him onto his backside. She tugged his laces loose and got his leggings off his hips and down his thighs very quickly. She bent, her soft hair tickling his bare legs and licked his erection gently. He gasped and buried both his hands in her hair, thanking every God he could name that she seemed so keen to do this, because it was his second favourite act. Phe sank onto his erection and let her tongue and lips do the work. Thranduil moaned and tensed under her, pushing into her mouth eagerly. His hands were gentle and so were his thrusts but she sensed he wanted more.

Phe moaned softly as the heat from his hands and the smell of his skin conspired to make her even wetter. Suddenly she wanted her gown off, she needed to feel his skin. She used her tongue to make him arch and hiss her name, his fingers tightening perfectly on her back. Up and down she went, so slow and steady that she was sure by now he would feel as if she was torturing him deliberately. She was. At least until he pulled her up and kissed her so forcefully that Phe smiled against his lips. When he felt it he pushed his tongue into her mouth and made her moan.

'Take this off!' she whimpered urgently. Thranduil slid his fingers under the laces of her gown and pulled. They broke and Phe wriggled out of it and tossed it on top of his circlet.

Thranduil grabbed her and kissed her firmly. His member was still wet from her mouth. She felt it brush her thigh by accident as he pushed her onto her back. She wrapped her legs around him and kissed him fervently. He prodded promisingly at her. Phe wanted him to go that little bit further and enter her, but he seemed to be teasing her now, leaving her cold and wet and empty. Then he miscalculated and his little, teasing thrust and he touched her body, all hot and soaked. She arched.

'Thranduil!' she moaned. 'Please! I want you!'

Thranduil brushed a soft touch over her breast. Her nipple hardened instantly and she made a choked little noise and encouraged him. Then he brought his body down to touch hers. Phe whimpered. His skin was as soft as silk and his hair cascaded off his shoulders and tickled her face. Phe ran her hands over his muscles and squeezed his backside.

'Phe-' it passed his lips like a little prayer for her comfort. He caught her ankle and wrapped it around his thigh. 'I do not want to hurt you.'

'Just be gentle,' she suggested.

Phe made a happy little noise as he pushed inside her gently. She gripped his neck and whimpered a string on unintelligibly lovely things. Through lack of use, it stretched and stung her a little. She gasped when he began to work himself deeper with shallow little thrusts that made his breath uneven and his cheeks pink. Discomfort faded to be replaced by pleasure as she became accustomed to him. Thranduil eased himself deep enough that Phe arched her back and cried out for more. He caught her face between his hands and sat to work with a slow, thorough kiss. He supposed she felt as vulnerable as he did, so much at stake over so small an act.

'Am I hurting you?' he breathed urgently, against her lips.

Phe shook her head. Then she choked out a surprised little noise and shuddered, promisingly.

'Deeper, Thranduil,_ please_-' she pleaded near his ear.

Helpless for more of the impossibly tight warmth, he obliged her. She sent shocks of pleasure up his spine and down his legs. Suddenly his existence was centered on where they joined. He felt something unfurling behind his eyes, something needy and primal.

_Lights! It is too late to stop now. I do not **care** if we make a child by accident. I would love to see her pregnant!_

When he looked down, her mouth was open and her eyes closed. She looked ready to release in his arms. His body tightened in anticipation of his climax. He forced it to relax just to prolong this pleasure.

'I never took a lover,' she breathed suddenly, 'I had forgotten. Thranduil. _Make me remember_. _You feel so good!'_

Phe moaned into his kiss involuntarily as he drew almost out of her body and then plunged firmly back in. She cried out. Between her legs it had grown so hot that she was no longer in control of her bucking hips. She could see the shimmering lights coming close. They flitted to and fro in her peripheral vision, threatening a disaster that she did not have the will to avoid. Thranduil gripped her bottom and drove himself into her firmly. Suddenly he hit a spot deep inside and she arched and grabbed him. She could feel herself, legs wide open and her heart thundering, her whole body tensed and eager and receptive and desperate for more. She cried out suddenly and he was surprised by her sudden strength. She tightened around his hardness in waves. Before she could do more than pull him down roughly she cried out into his hair and when he looked down he found her panting, her eyes heavy and her thighs trembling.

He kissed her softly and found she received it happily, tangling her tongue with his. Thranduil tensed and filled her as far a he could. He moaned helplessly as she tilted her hips to accept him unreservedly. He bit back a cry as her body drew him into a protracted orgasm that left him shaking and spent. His cheeks flushed, he buried his face in her breasts and slid from her body. Phe held onto him tightly and would not let him go. He was grateful for it.

'I knew you loved me,' she breathed, her sweet little hands in his hair.

Thranduil could feel her heart jumping under his nose. He remembered feeling similarly with Haliel, but that was such a long time ago that he had forgotten how potent it was, how urgent his need was now to keep her safe.

'I loved you,' she sighed softly. 'Even _before_ you kissed me.'

Thranduil raised his head to enfolded her in his arms and draw her onto his chest. He lay on his back, his member still wet and tingling. Phe encircled him with her arms and put one of her smooth, shapely thighs over his legs. Thranduil buried his nose in her hair.

_'Gi melin,'_ he whispered, his heart on fire. Phe choked and whispered her love back to him, her warm little hands seeking to bring him closer. He wrapped her in his arms and cloak and lay on the grass, complete but frightened.

_If by the morning she has disappeared with my rings like half the others then I will call myself a fool and never love again._

How that had hurt him, to have his last lover bought back by the guards! To have to stare at her a second time!

**000**

Waking was such sweet pleasure. The morning had worn on and Thranduil opened his eyes to see Phe resting silently on his chest. Her dark eyes were open but she was smiling, her hair strewn like a river of chocolate over his body. Phe smiled for him.

'Good morning, my King.'

'_Meleth nin_,' he said warmly. He ran a hand up her bare back.

_I am still wearing four rings. My circlet is there. She had neither raided the treasure hoard or made off with my captain of the guard. Thank the Valar!_

Phe wrapped a leg over his body suggestively. Thranduil dropped a hand to squeeze her thigh. The cloak had slipped off them in the night. He saw how lovely her legs were. He had not noticed in the haste of their first coupling. She was all soft curves and sweet, smooth flesh that woke his body a second time and made him adjust their position so that he could kiss her cheek, then her chin, and then her lips.

Phe sat up slowly, exposing a slender, curvy shape that was by no means too thin but which seemed to have redefined proportion so beautifully. Thranduil was aching before he had even touched her. He sat up and sought her lips and found them warm and willing. Eagerly she opened her mouth under his.

'You are so beautiful, my lord,' she said, appreciatively.

Thranduil actually flushed, taken aback by how sweetly she said it. He caught her hand and kissed it and then let it roam over his chest.

Phe smiled. His face was flushed, his body lean and muscular. She had thought a man who sat down a lot would be a bit soft underneath his fine clothes, but Thranduil was not soft. He had a strong chest and a flat belly and legs well used to riding. He drew her into his embrace and planted kisses down her neck. When he put a hand between her legs and found her wet, he rubbed her slowly, patiently until she was keening and rubbing herself against his hand.

'Turn over,' he encouraged.

Phe knelt in front of him and put her hands in the moss.

Thranduil ran his free hand over her bottom and saw she had nice, curvy hips.

_I have always loved curvy hips. If she does become pregnant it may not be so hard on her. _Thranduil smiled softly_. How would I explain that to Olerydes?!_

He rubbed her core with two gentle fingers until she became so wet that they were sliding to and fro without resistance. Phe shuddered underneath him and he was sure she had just climaxed because she became relaxed and sighed his name. She shuddered when he leaned over her back and kissed her shoulder.

Then he guided himself into her body and gripped her backside while he took her. With an excruciating patience (which Phe felt would have to go) he began to tease her with shallow little thrusts that left her core twitching and needy, her body unfulfilled.

'Mine,' he growled softly.

'Yes!' she burst out, delighted.

He grabbed her soft belly, more primal desires rising than a mere orgasm. Deep inside her, the potential for another little distraction, all warm and soft and full of baby smells. The memory of little newborn hands rose to torment him, so sweetly. Pushing it down was not so hard but it lingered in the back of his mind, a warm temptation.

_I will marry her. When she is mine I will fill her with more than my seed_,_ but I have seen the lights. I do not think we have that long! The Gods must will it._

His lips on the back of her neck, his hands on her ribs, he found her breasts, all plump and round and incredibly soft and filled his hands with them, thinking that they might soon feed his children. He listened to her whimper and moan. He climaxed without meaning to, his body following where his mind had gone, to fill her with potential.

Afterwards, he lay curled around her smaller body. He brushed the hair off her face as she slept. Already he wanted her again.

**000**

The Winter chill had eased with the passage into early spring. Phe woke three mornings later, in his bed. Thranduil slept beside her. His breathing was soft and even and his hair a river of molten gold. How she loved his hair, especially when it tickled her back when they made love. It got everywhere, into cracks and crevices that he should surely be disgusted to put it. He had a habit of flicking it off his face which drove Phe mad with lust, because every time he did it she would see a flicker of arrogance in his face, a hint of pride. He knew he was beautiful. She was now jealousy protective that she, and only she, got to touch him.

Thranduil rose to find Phe weeping at the dresser.

_This is not what I hoped to wake up to!_

'I would have preferred to find you with your lips around me,' he murmured, as he bent to pick up the letter she had discarded.

He read it. His face went from the mild amusement to sorrow.

'Oh, _meleth nin_,' he finally said. He bent down to look into her face. She had been weeping for some time now and she was red and puffy.

'I cannot!' she wept, her body shaking with her tears.

Thranduil pulled her to her feet and into his arms and bought her towards the bed to wrap her gently in his embrace and in his blankets. In a few minutes she stopped making him all wet.

'I cannot bear it, Thranduil! I cannot go! He has promised me to some Lords son. Do not let him, _please_, do not let him drag me away from you!'

Thranduil cupped her face.

'He cannot,' he shook his head. 'He cannot. He will have to send an army to take you!'

Then at the door, a little scratching suggested that Daeben and Anion were up and about.

'Shhh, dry your tears,' he whispered.

'But-'

'_Ada_?' came a little voice. Thranduil had guessed this might happen. Anion pushed the door and in scuttled Daeben. The _Ungol_ had doubled in size. Soon it would be a case of keeping her in a stable, not a basket. She had already covered all the house in webs and started hoarding pretty items, too. This upset Thranduil very much because he too had a taste for those gems and he would often find his favourites in her nest. She did not appreciate his reclaiming them. Anion had made her a lead and collar and the spider had taken to them quite well, but guests did not like it much. More than once visiting ladies had fainted at the sight of her.

Now the boy was staring at his _Ada_, and Phe's tearful expression. Even though Phe tried to smile at him, Anion took a quick step back, confused and upset. Then he turned and fled, his spider close behind him.

* * *

_**A/N** - A massive thank you to everyone who had reviewed so far. You've kept me inspired to finish this! We're not quite done yet ;)_


	10. From The Past

_**9. From the Past  
**_

Thranduil found Anion in the gardens. He was sitting upon a bench looking unhappy. Daeben was curled at his feet. When Anion saw his _Ada_, he stood up and made to run off.

'Anion._ Sit,' _Thranduil said. Anion came to join him on the bench reluctantly. Thranduil could see he was very upset.

'Anion. It is best that you saw the truth first. You are my favourite.'

He had said the same to Leesha two days past. Now both children believed they were their Father's favourite and it was delightful to see them both so happy.

'Phe was only having a cuddle with me.'

Anion sniffed and scrubbed at his nose.

'Anion. Why are you so upset? Do you not like Phe?'

'She is _not _my Mother!'

Thranduil nodded. _He does understand, then. I should not have told him how babies are made!_

'I understand. But she likes you. She is _my_ friend.'

Anion still would not look at his _Ada_. He called Daeben and she crawled over his legs to put her feeler arms on his hand delicately. He petted her and she quivered with delight.

'I am going to ride her when she is bigger,' he finally said.

'I think you shall,' Thranduil agreed, putting an arm around the boy to kiss the top of his head. 'And you will be the most feared warrior anywhere. Who would dare to challenge an _Ungol_?'

Anion smiled. 'Noone,' he said.

'Anion,' Thranduil pulled him closer and spoke gently into his hair. 'Phe is to stay with me. She will want to cuddle a lot too but that does not mean I do not love you and Leesha.'

Anion did not seem best pleased but he seemed to accept that for now.

'_Ada,_ is it...normal? To hear her voice in my head?'

Thranduil stared at him. 'Whose voice, Anion?'

'Hers,' Anion gestured to the spider, who pawed restlessly at his thigh. 'She wants to run. She gets bored in her tank and likes to be outside.'

'Strange for an _Ungol_ to like anything but darkness.'

Anion touched the top of her head and smiled.

'Daeben does. She likes the sun.'

Thranduil reached to rub the spiders back. She made a high pitched squeal of pleasure and came closer to enjoy his presence. He smiled.

'It must be normal,' he said. 'She is no ordinary spider, and you are no ordinary boy.'

**000**

Thranduil had spent the night making love to Phe. He was sore and tired. Legolas smirked at Olerydes, who kept casting fervent glances at the door. Thranduil had left Phe upstairs bathing. He could tell that Olderyes had missed her presence.

'Olerydes. What has amused you all so?' he asked tiredly.

'Nothing _Ada_,' Olerydes said quickly. 'Absolutely_ nothing_.'

Thranduil gestured to Legolas. 'Then what has put a smirk on his face and laughter in your eyes?'

Olerydes sighed softly.

'A rumour, _Ada_. That Phe may now be part of our family in a new way?'

'Are you not all a little old to be giggling at such things?' Then his eyes fell on Lilia. 'Except Lilia,' he smiled fondly.

His youngest looked up suddenly and smiled at her Father. Thranduil went warm and happy inside.

_She is such a quiet girl since her Mother's death. I wish she would share more with us._

'Is it true?' Olerydes dared enough to ask.

'It is. But I will thank you to keep your noses out until she chooses to speak of it! All of you. I will not have her frightened away by gossip.'

'_Ada_! We do not mean it that way!' Olerydes defended their motivation quickly.

Thranduil heard footsteps coming. Phe stepped into the room washed and dressed and radiant. His body came awake again and he cursed the place and time. He wanted to be upstairs with her. He hid a yawn behind his hand as she flowed into her chair. With a little bow of her head, she said, 'My lord,' and sat.

_"My lord?"_ _You screamed that into my hair last night, while I was taking you with your ankles around my ears! I hope my children did not hear it._

'_Hiril vuin_,' he smiled. His attention made her flush and this in turn made Thranduil go warm and needy.

Phe hid her blush behind her hair and began to eat. _Here I am sitting with your children and one hour ago you were inside me with sweat glistening on your skin and your hair all stuck to your chest! I want to do it again!_

'Aide,' Legolas said suddenly. 'I need another sausage. Make it a big, thick one will you, I am hungry.'

_'Legolas! For goodness sakes!_' Olerydes shut her eyes in disgust.

Phe flushed crimson.

**_'Legolas!'_** Thranduil snapped.

**'**I'm sorry, I'm sorry!' breathed Legolas and he bowed his head to them all contritely. He was trying not to laugh.

Phe rose suddenly and fled. Thranduil watched her go as though her exit pained him, then he leaned forward with danger in his eyes.

'**Make that right**,' he commanded Legolas.

Legolas' smile faded. He rose with a bow of his head and followed Phe. He was blushing too when he stopped her by the hand and spoke softly to her temple.

'_Goheno nin_, Phe. I was only teasing.'

'I do not know what to say to you all-' she started. 'I just cannot talk about this yet!'

'Forgive me!' he licked his lips nervously. 'You and_ Ada_ must have privacy. I will not speak of it again.'

Phe bowed her head.

'Thank you, my lord.'

Legolas smiled softly and offered his hand.

'Will you finish your meal?'

Phe nodded. His hand and was dry, warm and strong. She followed him back to the table. Phe was sure that if Legolas had failed to bring her back Thranduil would have made him very sorry.

**000**

The second letter arrived on a warm spring morning. Phe was readying herself for Thranduil's spring celebration. Olerdes had braided Phe's hair and now Phe was tying a complicated pattern into hers. Olerydes read the letter out loud and tossed it contemptuously onto the desk.

'Phe, dearest, your Father cannot be serious. I mean to say...I know he_ is _serious indeed, but to demand your return in this way is very presumptuous. It is not as if we are keeping you prisoner! Has _Ada_ seen this?'

Phe nodded.

'He is furious.'

'What will you do? It seems your Father intends to come here to collect you himself.'

'I will choose Thranduil. My heart is set. But I do not want him to come here. I do not want to look upon him or hear his voice.'

Olerydes squeezed her hand.

'_Ada_ will not let him take you.'

**000**

It was not long before Thranduil was due downstairs for the feast and Phe had come to see if he was still in his chambers. She found him pinning a brooch at his collar. She crept up behind him and wrapped her arms about his waist. She laid her head on his back.

'If surprise is your desire, _meleth nin, _you will have to move more quietly than that!'

'A kiss is my desire,' she smiled against his snow-soft hair.

'My mouth is around here,' he said warmly.

She slid in front of him. He kissed her softly, cupping her face. When he pulled back an inch or two, his brows were knitted together and he looked troubled.

'I thought I was a man of courage,' he said softly. 'But when you are actually here it flees me. I am left weak.'

'Thranduil? Is there something you want to tell me?'

He ran delicate fingertips over the gems in her hair and sighed.

'I have something for you,' he said finally. 'But I think it will be too soon to give it to you, and you will tell me not to presume-' his hand left her face and he lost the words he had been hoping to say.

'Presume what, Thranduil? What are you talking about?'

With nervous hands, he reached into a drawer and picked out a box that he hid behind his back. Phe tried to peer around him but he stopped her with a kiss.

'Sneak,' he smiled.

Phe giggled and brushed her fingers down his overcoat.

'What had gotten you so wound up?' she peered up at him, suggestively. 'Would you like me to relax you, my love?'

'_Yes!_' he breathed eagerly. 'But. Not before I do this.'

Then he placed a little box in her hands. Phe stared at it in surprise. _A gift?_ _Valar, not the sapphire!_ _Do not give me the sapphire!_

'What is it?' she whispered.

'It is beautiful,' he breathed. 'Like you.'

_It is the sapphire!_ _Valar help me, I will cry and he will think I am ridiculous to cry at a gift! _

With shaking hands she opened it. It was a sapphire, but this one was not for selling. It was set into a mithril ring. It glittered and shone from the little box. Phe burst into tears and grabbed his hand.

'Do you not like it?' he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

'It is a _sapphire_!' she managed to choke.

Thranduil gazed at her as if she was mad. Then he smiled at her sweetness.

'It is not for the cottage, you fool. You are supposed to wear it!'

He took it out of her hands and freed it from its case, then he took her hand in his. 'On _this_ finger,' he said softly.

He slid it onto her ring finger and cradled her against his chest. 'Do not weep,' he begged her. 'I mean to wed you, not send you away. Tell me it is welcome.'

His voice dropped to a whisper, a prayer against her hair.

_'Tell me it is welcome!'_

Phe found her voice and managed to say,

'It is _so_ welcome,' into his neck. Her tears dried as quickly as they had come, leaving her suddenly tired but so happy.

The ring glimmered on her finger and she sprang off the dresser to throw her arms around his neck.

'You are weeping!' she exclaimed, when she felt wet between them. She held his head and messed his hair with her grip. Neither cared. Thranduil buried his face in her gratefully. He did not trust his voice and there was little he could say which would explain what they both felt.

'Stay with me,' he said in the end. 'My Phe. _Stay._'

'Yes!' she cried, 'Yes, yes, yes!'

That night, Phe felt no shame in sitting beside Thranduil and indeed he ordered another seat bought to the head of the table so that she could be near him in the position most proper to their engagement. Phe felt as if the sapphire glinted so brightly that everyone could surely see it. When Olerydes and Legolas arrived, she could not keep herself from blushing when they hugged her and whispered their congratulations. Even Anion gave her a shy hug and went to sit beside his Father.

Phe had never been to one of Thranduil's parties. She felt as if she had so far missed out. More wine flowed that night than there was water in the river and there was so much food on offer that she ended the night stuffed, drunk and barefoot. Olerydes' pregnancy did not seem to be slowing her down. Phe danced with her. Then Thranduil must have remembered the Winter Dance and he cried over the voices,

'A Spring Dance, _hiril vuin_!'

He laughed as his family cheered her on. Phe flushed a bit but obliged him with the Spring Dance and when she was done, she stood up straight from her bow to see the King coming towards her. He grabbed her and kissed her hotly. Phe tasted the wine in his mouth and hardly cared who witnessed it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed back. When he put her down, he took her by the waist and said;

'A dance with_ me_, my pretty princess!'

Phe put her head on his chest and her arms around his body and let him lead their footwork. When the music stopped and he lead her by her hand back to her seat. When attention had shifted away from them, he made a new symbol with his fingers.

'Timeless life,' he smiled. 'That is an apt description of Spring indeed.'

**000**

Darkness crept up the sheets and over Phe's naked body. She had thrown a leg over Thranduil in the aftermath of their coupling and now she dozed with her head on his chest. He disturbed her by caressing her breast softly. When the nipple hardened, he took it between his fingers and began to play with it. Phe did not open her eyes but her breathing deepened. Thranduil could tell she was aroused. She wriggled her hips against his thigh and let a soft moan escape her lips when he pinched it.

He had grown hard beneath her. He employed his free hand in her hair and kissed her. Phe made a noise and dragged him closer. Thranduil leaned over her body, forcing her into the mound of pillows they had made and slid gently inside her. She whimpered and gripped him. When he began to thrust gently she wrapped her ankles around his hips and pushed herself eagerly against him.

His breath was hot on her throat, his hair warm and damp on her chest. She caught his mouth and pushed her tongue inside and was gratified when he moaned against her and seemed to lose a bit more of his control.

Phe grabbed his backside and squeezed. He pushed deeper, his eyes half closed and his face pink. She buried her nose in his hair and licked is ear until he shuddered. The lights crept up from below, like a rising tide in her mind. They washed over her and presented her with a blinding brightness into which she felt she _needed_ to fall. Phe felt Thranduil was inside that light, as though he was waiting for a deeper joining that she desperately wanted to give him.

She skirted around the outside of it, her body buzzing with the climb to climax but when the time came she avoided the lake of brightness and buried her face in Thranduil's neck instead. He said nothing of it, though by the way he cupped her skull and met her gaze, she felt he knew what she had done.

_He would say a child was a blessing_, she thought._ But the lights have come too soon! I am not ready, we are not even married yet!_

Still, a frisson of guilt went up her spine for denying the Gods what they so clearly wanted.

**000**

Lord Caduven made his second journey to the Greenwood with much less pomp and circumstance. He came with his Captain of the Guard, Amomen and a cloak of soldiers. He was allowed entry to Sindaroth by the main gate but before he could progress inside to see the King, Legolas came down to greet them.

_I see the same strength in his eyes as in Thranduil's. Arrogant **boy!**_

'Disarm them,' Legolas commanded the guard.

'This is an insult!' Caduven protested.

Legolas insisted; 'By the Kings command.'

When Legolas turned away there was the ghost of a smile on his face. It angered Lord Caduven, who sensed that his motives had already been presumed.

With little choice but to obey, Caduven allowed his bow and knives to be stripped from him. He took only Amomen into the caverns.

Phe saw the two figures coming along the walkway. A chair had been brought for her so that she could sit beside the throne. It was white and made of softly curving branches. She grabbed Thranduil's hand where it lay on the arm rest. He turned his palm upwards to take hold of hers.

'I see them! Thranduil, I do not think I can do this-'

'Do not fear, _meleth nin_,' he said softly.

By the time Lord Caduven had reached the throne he had seen Phe seated beside the King and spied her hand in his. Her engagement ring glinted brightly in the bluish light of the lanterns. Thranduil did not release her, nor try to pretend that their relationship was anything less than intimate. Caduven gave Thranduil a stiff bow which the King returned with a bow of his head.

'Welcome, my lord. You sent no word of your arrival or we would have sent out a party to receive you.'

'I had no need of it, my King. I bought my own guards.'

Thranduil nodded. _Your show of force has not gone unnoticed, you insolent swine._

His fingers tightened imperceptibly on Phe's. She felt it and took strength from his support. _  
_

'I come in search of one who has forsaken my house,' said Caduven.

Phe went cold. Fear and fury rose together to torment her heart.

_I still feel it! The way his hands gripped my gown and hair as he shoved me toward my death!  
_

Confusion warred within her. Her natural love for her Father was automatic but her hate confused the issue greatly.

'Pephennas,' he said, his dark gaze as heavy as she remembered. His voice held its familiar command. Phe wanted to run. Thranduil turned to gaze at her. Phe knew then she was expected to lead in this, for it was her choice whether to forsake her family. Phe found herself short of breath, courage, and words.

_'Ada.'_

'Come to me. We are going home.'

'Why did you not write?' she asked softly.

'Does a Father need to write to bring his daughter home?'

_So this is it._ Phe struggled to find her voice under the raging heat in her cheeks and the blood pounding in her ears.

'I cannot go home,' she said softly. 'I have found a life here.'

Caduven shook his head dismissively and held out a hand for her. Phe felt the tug of his expectation. She was sure she would break and go with him for lack of courage. Then a hot stab of pain shot up her back and reminded her of all the pain he had caused.

'I will not.'

Caduven had no patience for her refusals. He took a step forward to glare at her.

'Get down. _Now!_' he commanded. 'Do you think you are his queen! You are his concubine! For _shame!'_

Phe shook her head. She was trembling from head to toe and almost weeping. She shifted away from him, so great was her disgust. Her chair squeaked in the silent room.

'No, _Ada_.'

Thranduil squeezed her hand.

'You have wasted your journey. Tell Mother I am well. I will not leave with you this time, or any time hence.'

'Have you gone mad!' his voice began to rise. Caduven lost his patience and strode toward her.

Phe lurched backwards but a pair of guards crossed their spears with a clang over his chest. Caduven gripped the shafts and hissed.

'I should have known you would betray me! _You are not of my house!'_

Phe's vision flickered with splotches of dark. Suddenly her trembling, frightened body flushed with strength borne entirely of anger. She stood in a flurry of expensive cloth.

'Murderer!' she yelled, her voice echoing so that all of Sindaroth could hear. 'It was you who shoved me from the walkway! You who tried to cause my death! _Murderer! Kinslayer!'  
_

Caduven staggered back, his eyes full of fear.

'What madness are you talking? She has lost her mind!'

'Do not dare to call me mad!' Phe shouted. It was the first time Thranduil had heard her shout. 'Do not **dare!** You think to cheapen my testimony by accusing me of a womanly fault!'

Then Phe started toward her laughing Father in anger. Thranduil saw her bend for her knife.

'**_Stop_**,' Thranduil commanded. Phe paused in surprise. She felt the King arrive beside her. He caught her forearm and tugged her back. Caduven's face twisted in fury at his show of power and his intimate manner. Thranduil gave her a soft push in the direction of his guardsmen and said;

'This is not a woman's work! Get_ back_, my lady.'

_I have never heard him speak that way to me. It is as if he is two people! One a King and one a man!_ For a minute she stood looking at him, wondering whether she ought to be afraid or incensed. Then the secret spot between her legs flushed with heady warmth and she blushed. Thranduil's gaze was penetrating, searching.

_He knows! He knows how his commanding tone arouses me! _Phe was breathless by the time he looked away.

'Alphiel has a hot temper, my lord,' Thranduil turned to Lord Caduven. 'She is most easily incensed by betrayal.'

'You mock me,' Caduven growled. 'You rename her! She is not yours to claim!'

'She is a free woman now. A child of Sindaroth.'

Caduven shoved away from the spears. He took one last look at Phe and turned. He dragged Amomen with him by a tug on his cloak. They were gone when Thranduil bent beside Phe. He pushed her gown aside with warm fingers and popped the blade free of her leg. He put it behind his back.

'You must put away your claws, _meleth nin,_ before you poke your own eye out.'

Phe turned to him, defeated.

'Give me that. It is a gift from my Mother.'

Thranduil smiled and shook his head.

'No. Not if you cannot control your anger.'

'Thranduil. He deserves my wrath!'

'I do not care!' Thranduil shook his head; 'What were you _thinking!?_ You are not strong to enough to fight a man and win! If ever you try that again I will not give this back!'

Phe accepted the blade and slid it back into place. She sulked until he put a hand gently on the back of her neck and pulled her against his chest.

'A blade cannot settle a matter of the heart,' he whispered. 'But it can give the heart reason to grieve harder. You are young and hot headed, my lady. Still, I am proud of your courage.'

'It is not over,' she whispered. 'I know him. He will not settle for this!'

Thranduil returned to his throne with nothing but a sigh. He laid his hands on top of hers again and rubbed gently as her tears began to fall.

'Sindaroth is impenetrable, _meleth nin_. What will he do? Throw harsh words at me until I relent?'

Phe smiled slightly.

'He knows some _very_ harsh words my lord.'

Thranduil smirked mildly.

'Yes. Well. He will have to bolster them with arrows. I do not think he would dare.'

**000**

Phe was tired when the end of Thranduil's day came.

_How he can sit on that seat all day and long and listen to this drivel I will never know! He must have the patience of a saint, or either selective hearing!_

'My lord, I will take a bath, I think-'

He surprised her as they passed a darkened corridor. He pushed her into it with a firm shove and pinned her against the brickwork.

'I know your game,' he said. 'You little _minx_. I have suffered this erection_ all day!'_

Phe gasped when he grabbed her hand and put it against his hardness.

'I cannot guess what you mean-' she smiled in the dark.

**'On your knees,' **he commanded her.**  
**

Phe's legs went weak. It was if that tone of voice drained all her strength and made her helpless. It was the voice he used to order his guards around. Phe felt it shiver along the back of her neck. She went wet all over again and gladly obliged him. He freed his erection and pulled her mouth towards the tip. Phe grabbed his hips and sank onto it. She was pleased when he hissed and bucked. He breathed an unsteady 'yes!' as she began to suck.

He let her work her lips and tongue around it, then he pulled out of her mouth with a pop and a breathy moan, and before Phe could protest that this was hardly the place for a lovers tryst, he pushed her onto her hands and knees and grabbed her gown. He hauled it up to expose her bottom and worked his fingers into her silken undergarments to draw them down.

'Someone might find us!' she hissed urgently but Thranduil caught her resisting hands and bent her over in front of him.

**'You will do as you are told,**' he said.

Phe found herself trembling as he brushed hands up the insides of her thighs. It was not fear that was taking all her control away, it was lust. A glance behind her found the King in the darkness, his clothes still perfect and his crown a spiky silhouette. She felt him poke at her bottom and moaned, her body suddenly on fire. Then she had an idea.

'_No_, my lord,' she breathed.

_It is a gamble! What if he thinks I mean it?_ But her concerns were unfounded. Thranduil grabbed her and hauled her upright. With a surprising strength he put her against the wall and gathered both her hands behind her back.

**'You say only "yes" to me!**' he breathed into her ear.

Phe was so wet she could feel it dripping down her thighs. She was trembling too, her whole body on the edge.

'No,' she shook her head.

Thranduil reached between her legs and buried two of his fingers in her wetness. She bucked and whimpered against the wall and squirmed when he moved them around and thrust them in and out. He moved up close to her back and replaced them with his member. Phe shuddered hard.

'N-No-' she tried to deny him but it felt far too good to keep up the act for long.

Thranduil put a knee between her legs and pulled her closer. He buried himself warmly in her body and pressed his chest to her back.

'Thranduil-' she breathed. 'Please!'

'**My lord**-' he said, his teeth sharp on her ear. Phe arched and tried to get more of him inside her.

'My lord!' she finally cried, when he nipped her earlobe and thrust deeply.

**'I am going to take you,'** he threatened, as goosebumps raced down Phe's back to pool their sensitivity between her legs.** 'You are mine to do with as I wish. You will _not_ refuse me.'**

'I might-' she breathed.

**'How!**' he laughed softly near her ear.

_Really, meleth nin, you are a much better actor than I imagined!_

**'You are smaller, I am stronger. I have both your hands and I am already inside you!'** he growled the next in her ear and Phe whimpered; '**Obey your husband!'**

Phe convulsed in his arms, her body betrayed her with an unexpected yell. She shuddered as her climax raced through her. She tried to fight the upsurge of light but it was useless. The brightness caught her by the hands and dragged her into its beauty. Before she could do anything it had surged through the open gateway and filled her body. Then Thranduil cried out into her hair, a half cry half moan that wrenched an echoing yell from her and he filled her with a wave of his light.

Phe was gasping when he pulled back to kiss the back of her neck. He was damp and warm. He released her hands and gathered her into his arms. He slipped free of her body. Phe almost fell against him, soft and satisfied.

'Thranduil-' she tried to tell him what she had felt but a lantern light blossomed in the doorway and a guard stood staring at them.

'Begone,' Thranduil said, his voice unusually mellow. 'It is nothing that need concern you.'

The man left, flushed and hard, because he had seen the Kings state of dishevelment and guessed that the blushing woman in his arms had only yelled in pleasure. Thranduil wrapped his arms around her and kissed her throat. Then gently he dropped a hand to touch her belly. The silent communication was enough. Phe buried her face in his coat and gripped the hand he offered.

_Not now! Please not now. I am not ready for this!_

**000**

Caduven made a second march to the Greenwood. He bought only himself, his horse, some clothes, and a sweeping cloak of soldiers who consumed the streams and the flocks on the way, and before the week was out, bore down on the Greenwood caverns. The King had taken something from him that could not be replaced and he intended to retrieve it. Caduven left his hoard on the borders and took an armed escort. He called a halt at the gates and slid off his horse. A horn blown far back in the ranks signaled to the King but Thranduil could not have missed the warriors at his gate, nor the Lord who came seeking his daughter.

'King Thranduil!' he cried.

Far above, Thranduil peered down from a high window. Beside him, Phe gripped the only part of him not in armour, his hand. Gently, he caught her waist and drew her in to kiss her. He gazed upon her face tenderly.

'Thranduil...do not hurt him, _please._ Do not get hurt yourself! What if he tries to kill you?'

'He will not succeed,' said Thranduil softly. He stroked her hair with his one bare hand. 'Be calm.'

'He only wants me. Let me go to him!'

'He will snatch you away from me,' Thranduil leaned down to pick up his sword where it had been laying on the bed and said; 'I will not give him chance to take you.'

Phe grabbed his hand. His skin was warm and familiar.

'Thranduil...' she whispered. _'Please!'_

He gazed into her eyes and found the same confusion he had felt as a young man, when he had questioned war.

'You do not understand,' Thranduil touched her cheek gently. 'When you place two dogs in a pit, you must expect them to fight.'

He turned for the stairs. Phe followed him. _I cannot blame him. In these caverns hide his family and everyone he loves besides. I would do the same. I wish Ada would give up. So many lives stand to be wasted today over his stubbornness!_

From the battlements, Thranduil's archers aimed a volley high and waited for his command. At the gate, Caduven became nervous. Thranduil took four of his best and went down to speak to him. Phe made to follow but Legolas grabbed her about her middle and held her back.

'Let me go, Legolas!' she breathed. 'I have to try and stop this!'

He shook his head with the same infuriating stubbornness as his Father.

'You have no idea, do you?'

He caught her gaze and Phe found the same crystalline blue in his gaze as in Thranduil's. _He is a beautiful boy._ _If Thranduil and I have a baby, will he have the same blue eyes?_

'This is not a game, Phe. If they start to fight then we all go to battle and you _will_ stay here and be safe if I have to tie you to your bed.'

Then he said softly; 'If your Father attacks my family then he will die for it.'

Phe forced her tears down barely. Thranduil walked toward an armed hoard, beneath a hail of arrows waiting to happen.

'My lord,' Thranduil drew to a halt, his eyes cold and his face in impassable, unreadable mask. 'Let your men drink dry soil and eat dead bones while they wait for death. You were wise to choose speaking with me.'

'Give me back my daughter,' Caduven demanded.

'She does not wish it, I will not force her.'

'Pephennas!' Caduven cried at the fort.

Phe wrenched away from Legolas and stepped into the sun. The walkway shone in the morning light. Legolas came behind her with his bow in his hand. Phe stopped beside Thranduil. The King put a hand on the base of her back.

'_Ada_, please?' she tried reasoning. 'Please. Can you not accept? I am safe and happy, is that not enough? Let me be. Let me live. Do this for me, for love, _Ada_.'

'Love,' Caduven snorted. 'What of respect! What of_ honour_!'

'Love is chief of them,' Phe shook her head. 'I will not go with you but I do not want to lose you. Whatever may have happened between us, whatever-' she licked her lips '-_accidents_ may have happened. We can forget them!'

'Your Mother fades,' he whispered.

Phe shook her head, so close to tears that she could barely see.

'No!'

Caduven lunged for her but Thranduil blocked him. Something cracked and Caduven yelled in pain as he reeled away. He clutched his sword hand where Thranduil had broken two of his fingers. Thranduil rested his hand upon the hilt of his sword.

'Be a man of sound mind and good morals,' he whispered. 'Go forth and consider your own foolishness in whatever way suits you best, but do so peacefully. If you strike at me I will not stop until your kin are naught but voices on the wind.'

Caduven gasped in pain; 'You will pay for this!'

'You are welcome to use the gate. Though it is cold you will find it more welcoming than my blade.'

Thranduil turned away and opened his arm for Phe but before they could take one step, Phe screamed. Thranduil spun. Legolas stood, his bow string still vibrating. There was an arrow buried in Caduven's shoulder. The hidden knife fell from his hand and clattered onto the bridge. It was hardly a fatal blow but Phe started forward to grab him as though he were dying. Caduven hit the floor on his knees and bent forward to be sick but then he raised his hand to gesture.

Phe heard the subtle displacement of air and looked up. She screamed and ducked beside her Father but she knew it would be useless. The arrows dimmed the sun. As they began to rain down, a voice cried at the Greenwood archers to hold fire. Caduven dragged Phe toward the gate with his good hand. Her knife clinked on the stone as her gown rode up but she could not tear far enough away to reach it.

Legolas saw Thranduil dive towards them. For a moment he thought Thranduil might shield her with his body. The thought that the dawn might bring the death of his _Ada_ was too much. Legolas reloaded his bow and the second arrow took Caduven square between the shoulder blades and sent him sprawling onto his face. Phe screamed.

Thranduil grabbed her and dragged her against his chest. Then he saw a last, desperate escape and he shoved her towards the river. Arrows whumped off the stone and went falling into the chasm below. Thranduil dived after her and swung her under the bridge. As he fell, a hot, terrible pain took him in the shoulderblade. He found a root that had punched through the stone but his hand failed with the pain of the arrow.

He plummeted, hair flying like a flag, feet first into the water.

'Thranduil!' she screamed, over the sound of a second volley, and then a third.

A moment later, Legolas dived out of the arrow storm and followed his Father into the white water.

Phe screamed as her fingers slipped on the dry, dusty soil, and the root cracked and gave under her weight. She grabbed for another but that came loose in her hand, and the sudden jerk split the first. For the second time in her life she went falling through emptiness.

She tried to keep her mouth closed but the water forced its way down her throat and into her lungs and the current buffeted her so roughly that she was not sure if she was upright or upside down. For so long she tossed and turned in the madness of the river, her lungs burning and her brain on fire with pain and then she became sure she was dead, because it stopped hurting and she was aware only of her own heartbeat. Then, a second heart, beating faster beneath her own.

**000**

Thranduil grabbed Legolas by the collar and hauled him up the muddy bank. He fell into the mud on his knees.

'Legolas!' he grabbed the boys face and shook him. Only then did he realise how much his right arm hurt. He glanced over his shoulder and saw there was an arrow shaft in his back. But that seemed numb and insignificant next to his panic.

'Wake up!' he commanded, as if by the power of a Kings command, death could be put off for another day. 'Legolas. Wake up,' he leaned over to hold him and his voice broke. 'Get _up_.'

A splash on the riverbank. Thranduil saw he was not alone. A fisherman was standing there with his rod in his hands, looking askance at the kneeling King and his injured prince. Then his gaze went to the arrow in Thranduil's back and the boy on the ground. He dropped the rod and scrambled up the bank. He was an old man, wrinkled and tanned. He looked down at Legolas. Then he knelt and pushed the King away.

He hauled Legolas over and took him around the waist. He squeezed the boy around the stomach as though he were trying to make love to him. Thranduil's vision clouded with tears. He sat back to watch, no more powerful than a man as Legolas spewed up a lungful of river water and choked in pain. The fisherman let go and Legolas curled up, gasping.

Thranduil scrambled forward and grabbed him. He turned his head to check he was alive. Legolas' eyes were open and he was trying to breathe through so much pain that he had gone white, convulsing as air found its way back into his lungs.

The fisherman seemed confused. Then he said;

'Elves! By the Gods, you're elves!'

'Help him!' Thranduil said.

'He'll live,' the fisherman nodded. 'But he needs to be warm and rest. And that arrow needs pulling, before it does you in.'

'A horse,' Thranduil said, 'A horse, man, and I will give you a Kingdom of your own!'

'A whole Kingdom,' the fisherman smiled knowingly. 'Alright. There's a farmer over the way. I'll fetch you horses.'

**000**

Every step hurt. Legolas laid low on the horses bare back. His strength had failed him with the cold from the river and the burning ache in his lungs. The guards pulled him down and yelled for the healers. Thranduil came behind him, his arm numb and his back so full of pain. He slid off the horse into waiting hands. It was not until Duven came close that he saw Phe was nowhere to be seen.

'Where is my lady!' he called.

'She has not come back!' Olerydes appeared suddenly with a bloody rag in her hands. _'Ada. _I cannot find her!'_  
_

Thranduil's blood ran cold. He twisted to gaze at the river and his eyes followed it down, down, to where the white water eased into a fast current.

**000**

Phe coughed up so much water she was surprised she had not drowned. She gazed at the mud and grass between her fingers. Then something poked her in the back. When she turned her head it was to see black, ugly faces. Three Orcs. Two males, one female.

'A She-elf,' said one in their native tongue.

'What do we do with it?'

'Eat it.'

'Elf flesh.._.disgusting!'_

'Throw it back in the river and see if it can swim!'

'String it up by its toes. I likes to hear something scream from time to time!'

Phe breathed; 'I will not scream you for, Orc.'

Another prod, this time in her backside.

'_Fuck_ the bitch then. I bet she's young. Innocent. Make her _bleed!_' said the female.

Phe thought; _one of us will bleed and it will not be me. _

The largest male grabbed Phe's bottom and began to knead it. He squeezed so hard that Phe was sure she would have bruises. Then he grabbed her ankles and dragged her legs apart. Phe twisted. A hot lance of pain shot up her spine but she reached her knife and popped it free. A moment later she was scrambling away with the blade between them.

'Foul monsters!' she hissed. She was covered in mud and soaked to the bone. A round of hisses and threats and the male thrust his spear at her. Phe knocked it aside.

She shifted away, toward the water.

_I cannot take all three together. This is a job for Mother! She would skin him in a mere minute and hang his carcass up to dry. I have never enjoyed watching that._

Phe's gown began to pull and stream in the current.

_I would sooner take my chances in the river than against three warriors! Perhaps Thranduil was right to take my blade from me. Now that I am faced with danger and death, I need a bodyguard with a bow or I am going to lose this fight!  
_

Then mercifully Phe saw a horse in the distance. Upon it sat a rider whose golden hair streamed like a flag. Behind it, four more, matching its speed. She took a step into deeper water. She began to shake with the cold.

Then the spear came for her belly. Phe grabbed the shaft and hauled on it and the Orc who held it staggered forwards and went face first towards her legs. She sliced his throat as he fell. His blood gushed into the water at her feet, warm and red.

'Stay away from me!' she breathed.

The female screeched in fury and started forwards. She swung a sword at Phe's belly and missed her by an inch as she plunged backwards into the water. It was so cold that it stole her breath.

Closer the horses came. Thranduil's white giant jumped a fallen tree.

Phe had not expected the female to come in after her. She grabbed Phe's foot and began to saw at her ankle with a knife. Phe screamed as she was dragged under the water. She twisted and drove her knife into the female's unprotected belly. The water filled with blood and the Orc screeched and started forward. But then Phe had the sense that she had taken an arrow because she started forward and then released her leg. Phe surfaced, gasping, and saw her floating away on the current. Then a second arrow took the remaining male and the guards skidded to a muddy halt.

Phe limped up the bank but found her foot useless.

'Thranduil!' she cried, when he slid off his horse and grabbed her awkwardly. She gripped him, weeping. Before she could ask after his health or Legolas' life, she collapsed at his feet and twisted to gaze at her leg. It streamed blood. White tendon showed beneath split skin.

'You came for me,' she choked, before she passed out on the grass. She came to long enough to feel a belt being tied around her calf. It hurt more than the open wound. She was hoisted onto a horse and seated against a warm body.

'Thranduil,' she whispered.

'Phe? Stay,' he was saying from somewhere nearby. 'Stay!'

_I want to go home._ _I want to curl up warm with Thranduil and listen to him describe another of his adventures._

**000**

Legolas woke from a deep sleep, warm and comfortable but as sore around his belly as he had ever been from a days training. His Father sat over him, his arm strapped in bandages, looking drawn and ill and pale.

'_Ada_,' he whispered, his throat sore. 'You are alive!'

'Legolas,' Thranduil rasped. He ran a hand through his sons unbraided hair and kissed his temple. 'I have never been so glad to see you wake.'

'Where is Phe!' Legolas said quickly.

'She is resting. She does not know yet that Lord Caduven is dead. _Ionneg._ I may owe my life to you and Phe too is in your debt.'

'I could not let you fight,' he whispered. 'I did not mean to kill her Father...I could not lose you!'

Thranduil put his forehead against his sons and closed his eyes.

'It is over,' Thranduil whispered. 'And I thank you for my life. And hers.'

'She will never forgive me!' he whispered.

Thranduil smiled and touched his cheek softly. 'Do not,' he said. 'Just rest. And be well. That is all I ask of you.'

**000**

Thranduil was torn between his sleeping lover and his son. In the end his exhaustion won out and he collapsed by chance beside Phe, his skin clammy and an infection taking root in the arrow wound. By the morning he was green and white and sick enough that Phe woke him screaming for Duven.

'Be quiet, woman,' he muttered testily. 'I am fine. Just a headache.'

He tried to roll over. The pain stopped him long before he managed it and nearly sent him into a dead faint.

He dreamed. Little of it was pleasant. In the dark where gold glittered in abundance, a scaly face lunged out of the black. It lit the world with fire and burned away his face. He was on the table and a man was trying to save what was left of his miserable life. The pain was so terrible that he cried out and begged Duven to stop.

He woke in a cold sweat to feel warm arms around him but he sank again before he could wake himself fully, into the nightmare caverns through which he had run with the flames hot on the back of his neck, his hair singeing. Up the steps he had run on legs fit to fail and hidden while his friends burned away. The dragon came fast and strong behind him.

His scream was drowned under the furnace roar. And then he was away from the lair and running over green fields. Thranduil had no idea why because that dragon had not pursued him past the entrance to his cave.

Now the hurricane wind picked up and tried to take him off the ground. The thing was at his back, taking his skin and his bones and rendering him down to ash. And the dragon faded into darkness, and the shadow of an ancient evil look his place. His fiery mouth morphed into a lidless eye, whose gaze lifted the rock and soil around him and ground away the atoms of their creation in nuclear heat. Taking mass from the world it reduced his life and soul to nothing.

_Oropher is dead_, whispered the spiteful darkness, and Thranduil was falling, and all time had stopped for his grief. The world was made of black banners and darkness, and cold nights, and the weight of a crown made of thorns.

'My lady,' said a familiar voice in his dreams. _Duven._ 'You must come. I have news. Sit, first.'

**000**

Phe sat on a high chair much later that night, beside Lord Caduven's body.

_So cold,_ she stroked his hair. _So cold, like meat from the slaughter! Your face is slackened and you look nothing like my Ada. Where have you gone? Why did you have to leave me! Why did you have to be so stubborn!  
_

Phe wept bitterly at first and then in her exhaustion her sobs became retching and she collapsed beside the privy. That was where Legolas found her, a corner of her gown poking out of the door. For some time he watched her from the doorway and pitied her.

If it had been Thranduil on the table, Legolas was sure he would have broken in the same way. Phe raised her head to look at him and Legolas saw her unguarded pain. Suddenly all the reasons he had given himself fell away and his eyes filled with tears. Legolas approached her. He did not dare to touch her, not even to offer comfort, though he wished he could lay a hand on her back and tell her how sorry he was in words that did not sound hollow.

'My heart bleeds for you,' he whispered, though his voice did not want to make any sounds at all. The river had scoured his throat and left him breathless and pained. 'I will not ask your forgiveness. Phe. I did it for my Father. I am so sorry for this loss.'

Phe shut the door on him and curled up against the wall. She shut her eyes and tried to breathe. Before the night was out she emptied her stomach many times over and finally crawled into bed beside Thranduil, who was clammy and beset by ill dreams.

She watched him sleep and wished selfishly that he would wake to comfort her. He was so pale that she worried he would not last the night. She finally slept with her head on his belly.

In the morning she woke sharply. She listened. Thranduil was breathing. She found him with more colour and she thanked the Valar that he, at least, was safe. He opened his eyes weakly a few minutes later and coughed up dirty, awful liquid. Phe held his head and stroked his hair.

'My Father is dead,' she whispered.

She had thought she was ready to say it aloud but the sound of the words took her heart and soul. She buried her face in a pillow and rubbed his temple. He squeezed her hand weakly. It was then that she realised how sick he was. In her fear of loss she forgot her own woes. Phe found Thandir outside on a bench. He was dozing there. The faithful manservant had refused to leave his King.

'Fetch Duven,' she said. '_Run_!'

**000**

A second look at her Father's corpse send her reeling a second time. Olerydes held her while she wept.

'Say your goodbyes, dearest,' she whispered after a while. 'In another day he will not be fit for viewing.'

Phe said what she needed to but it felt silly to say such tender things to a dead body. Phe sensed that whatever had been in him before, whatever force had animated him was gone. He seemed_ less_ now. The dim lights played tricks with her eyes and made her sure she saw his move but when she touched him he was as cold as stone. Phe told Olerdyes of her suspicion.

'My Phe,' Olerydes stroked her back. 'He is dead. He has no pulse. He is cold. He is gone, love. You must let him go. He will be waiting for you at the end of days.'

'I do not believe in that!' Phe whispered.

'You must believe it. I have seen it. I have seen the spirit as it crosses over.'

Phe shook her head and laid her temple on his chest.

'There is something missing,' she admitted. 'It is his spark!'

Phe left her Father's body and went back upstairs to Thranduil. He lay sweating under thick furs with Duven beside him. The healer was busy mixing something in a bowl and preparing new dressings. Phe slid onto the bed beside her love and stroked his unshaven cheek.

'Let me stay,' she whispered to Duven.

'Your voice may bring him back, my lady. He is walking in shadow with an infection in his lung. He is between the worlds.'

Phe kissed his jaw softly and wrapped her arm around his neck. Much later when Duven had packed the wound afresh and left him bandaged and clean, Phe let her fingers play over his ear in the way he liked.

'Do not leave me,' she whispered. 'My Thranduil. You must hear me. Hear my voice. Come back to the light. My love?'

Phe stared into his face but saw no response. She put her nose in his throat and sighed softly.

'I cannot do without you,' she choked and began to sob into his shoulder.

**000**

Olerydes came in to see her Father before the sun went down. When she saw how ill he had become she bought in blankets to stay the night. Phe wrapped herself in one and rubbed his chest gently, hoping he might feel her touch and remember which way to go.

It was late, or rather early, when he gasped and stirred. Olerydes jumped up and grabbed his hand.

'_Ada!_' she bent over him to kiss his temple. _'You are alive!'_

Phe opened bleary eyes from where she had been sleeping on his chest and stared into his crystalline eyes. She hovered between a broad smile and a sob and then she gave into the latter, as was her way, and buried her nose in his neck. He laughed, the dull, scraping sound of a very sore throat and grabbed her with his good arm.

Phe swiped her tears away and kissed his cheek.

'_Meleth nin_,' he whispered hoarsely. 'I heard you. I heard you.'

Phe kissed him and cupped his cheek but it felt as though a kiss could not adequately describe all that she was feeling.

'Do not die!' she said, in a voice like a child's. 'My Thranduil. I _need_ you.'

He caught her hands and pulled her in. He buried his nose in her hair and breathed her scent.

_Something has changed. I smell it on her, her scent is different. I do not know exactly why but I sense there is something new of which she has not yet told me._

'I was afraid I had lost you,' he said.

Phe settled beside him to cuddle him warmly.

'As I was afraid to be without you,' she whispered.

Olerydes called for Thandir.

'Go and tell Legolas that _Ada_ is going to live!' she smiled widely. 'Though his hair desperately needs a wash!'

* * *

**_Translations_**

_Forgive me/Sorry - Goheno nin_

_My Lady - Hiril Vuin _

_My lord - Hir vuin_

_My son = Ionneg _

_My daughter = Iellig _

_ My love - Meleth nin  
_


	11. Of Children

**_10. Of Children_**

Black banners were hung in the grand hall. This unusual gesture honoured the grief of Thranduil's future queen and marked the days of her mourning, which would be sixty by tradition. Phe did not enjoy being reminded of all she had lost. She welcomed Lady Faendis at the gate. Fae was pale and tired but she greeted her daughter in a tight embrace and whispered that they would always share their kinship without question.

Fae was brought before Thranduil, who inclined his head to her bow.

_She has grown thin and pale and her radiance is gone. Her youthful glow is diminished. The Life is leaving her._

'My King. I was surprised but grateful to receive your invitation. You are kind to allow this.'

Thranduil said; 'I am not cruel, my lady. Proper burial is not unfitting. Our houses will soon be joined. Alphiel will benefit from your support.'

Faendis gave a nod.

'I would see her happy, my lord. The battle is over I am now beyond the dispute between our houses.'

Thranduil descended to look at her more closely. Fae sensed a deeper understanding than she had expected and she fought not to weep before him.

'I understand your loss, my lady. I have felt its stab most keenly. Though my grief is distant now, I remember it daily.'

'We both understand pain,' she whispered. 'May I see him?'

'_Hiril vuin,_' Thranduil gestured to Phe with one hand. She came to his side and when he released her toward her Mother, Phe enfolded her in an embrace. She breathed in the familiar scent of her hair and skin as though she were the balm for all that had ailed her.

'I will take you,' Phe whispered.

**000**

Faendis was not keen on fire, having seen a terrible blaze as a child. It was the only way to dispose of Lord Caduven in a way that would allow him to be taken home for a proper burial. When dark came, four elves carried his wrapped remains to the pyre and at Thranduil's gesture, Faendis was handed a flaming torch. Legolas had folded his arms over his bow as though it were his only comfort. Olerydes squeezed his shoulder.

'You will not be forsaken for this,' she whispered. He gazed into the dark and did not speak, though he felt strengthened by her words.

Faendis lit the taper that had been laid into the ground with oil. She watched the baby flame race toward the wood and hay. When it connected, the pyre burst into light. Faendis stepped back swiftly.

Thranduil caught Phe's hand.

_I envy you. You have someone to hold you and chase away your fears._ Fae gazed at the pyre which was growing a hot, blue core around the flammable oils that had been poured over the body. _All that I had is in the center of the fire. He and you, my daughter, but now you have a life of your own. What is to become of__** me**__?_

**000**

Phe had not been asleep long when she clattered out of bed and ran to the privy. Thranduil sat up blearily. When it was clear she had become unwell in the night, he followed her and found her kneeling and trembling with sickness.

_'Meleth nin_,' he caught her body and stroked damp hair off her face. 'You are ill.'

'It is just a sickness. Perhaps I ate something that does not agree with me.'

'Perhaps,' he breathed. He helped her back to bed.

_I have felt a growing danger, meleth nin. I do not believe for one moment that this is the food you ate!_

**000**

By morning she was a little recovered but when evening came, Phe became ill again. Thranduil lay beside her. He whispered warmly;

'There is something different about you, _meleth nin_.'

Phe grabbed his hands and laid it on her belly. She sighed softly into his neck.

'I missed my blood, Thranduil. It has been three weeks since.'

'Your blood?' he burst into a smile. It was the widest and most beautiful smile he had ever given her. Phe went warm at the sight of it and rolled to cuddle him happily. 'Oh _meleth nin_,' he sighed. 'That is the very best news you could have given me! The _very_ best.'

'What will we do?' she smiled. 'We are not even married yet. Think of how they will talk!'

Thranduil cupped her face and said;

'I do not care what they say. He is_ mine_ and so are you!' he kissed her.

_I have never seen you smile that way. You have never looked so genuine, so clean and clear in your joy as you do tonight!_

'I always wanted children,' Phe whispered happily. 'Could we bring our wedding forward?'

Thranduil nodded.

'Who will argue.'

Then Thranduil stroked her hair.

_'Meleth nin?_ Is something wrong?'

'My mother was angry. She says it is shameful.'

Thranduil's brow knitted together. 'Pay her no mind,' he said derisively. 'I certainly will not.'

**000**

Phe was troubled. Thranduil sensed her discontent and he went to sit beside her on the balcony. He brushed a warm hand up her thigh to remind her that with child or not, he would still want her in every sense.

'What is wrong? Why are you so pensive?'

'I am afraid,' she admitted.

'Of what, _meleth nin?'_ he sank to gaze into her eyes._  
_

'The pain,' she shrugged helplessly. 'What if it is too much? I have heard childbirth can kill you!'

Thranduil stroked her hand warmly.

'Yes, but you will not die. You will birth a healthy elfling and everything will be well for us. The pain can be lessened.'

'I do not want to be all alone. When my Mother birthed me my Father went hunting!'

Thranduil leaned in. He could smell her hair. It aroused him.

'Is that the way of your faith?' he said with a little smile. 'Would you have me beside you?

'Yes!' Phe nodded quickly.

Thranduil smiled. Then he said softly. 'At first Haliel thought it improper but there is not a guard or a healer here who would deny me access to my wife. I delivered Legolas with these hands.'

Phe smiled. 'I thought you might not want to be near it. Mother says that a man will respect you less when he has seen you give birth.'

'What nonsense your Mother talks,' he breathed.

'I once had a sister,' Phe said softly. 'But she died in the cradle. _Ada_ came back the next day and thereafter he despised my Mother for her negligence.'

Thranduil cupped her face gently and said; 'I would not speak ill of the dead before his kin and I would not treat you so harshly.'

She gripped his hand and began to smile. Thranduil watched her appreciatively for some time.

**000**

After dinner Phe went outside to catch a little fresh air. She leaned on the balcony and smiled at the stars.

_When mourning is finally over, perhaps I can get back to normal. It will be a relief to have all this done with and Mother settled again. It is so good to see her!  
_

A vicious cramp rippled through her belly. She bent over in pain. A second followed it and then a third which stole her breath. Phe felt something wet between her legs. At first she thought she had fouled herself but then she saw the stain on her gown was red.

Legolas heard her sobs above the voices of the gathered guests. He left his drink and came to find Phe kneeling, doubled up on the balcony. When she turned to look at him, he ran to fetch his Father.

'Legolas! _No!'_ she cried after him, but he did not hear her.

He returned with Thranduil who dashed through the darkened room to grab her where she knelt on the floor. He turned her face to search her eyes. He tried to bring her to her feet but she made an awful noise of pain and curled around her belly. Then he saw the stain on her gown. Phe heard his little gasp and she hid her face in her hands in shame.

'Go,' Thranduil commanded his son. _'Out!'_

The door banged. Phe burst into tears.

'I am sorry,' she whispered, brokenly, into his collar. 'I am so sorry, _meleth nin-_'

His vision clouded with tears.

'Come,' he whispered. 'You need to lie down.'

He took her to their chambers. Thranduil could not take his eyes off the blood. With a defeated sigh he settled behind her and gently pushed her hair to one side. He began unbuttoning her gown. He slid it off her shoulders. Under any other circumstances the kiss her placed at her nape would have been more passionate. This one was sweet only and a small reminder that he enjoyed bearing her flesh no matter the situation. He rose to throw the soiled cloth into their laundry. When he returned to her she was hiding under the furs in shame.

He drew the them back and sought her eyes to show her how very sorry he was for their loss and her pain. Phe burst out in quavering, uncontrollable fear;

'What are you going to do!'

Thranduil released her sharply. He stared at her.

'Help you, _meleth nin. _That is all. What madness has gotten into your mind?'_  
_

Phe swallowed hard around a big lump in her throat. Thranduil's confusion faded into anger.

'You expect me to hit you, do you?' he said suddenly. 'Is_ that_ the way of your family?'

Phe did not speak.

Thranduil stood and snapped; 'You insult me! I am no barbarian!'

Her tears were so thick that it was too hard to make words.

'But it is _my_ fault!' she finally choked.

Thranduil went pale. He put both hands on the bed and gazed into her face.

'I wished him dead!' she gasped. 'I was so afraid! I wished for _time_...it is too soon. I do not feel ready for an elfling!'

'You _wished!'_ Thranduil's voice rose. 'Woman, a wish is just that! _A wish_! Hear me. I do not blame you for this! It is an accident.'

Then he took her in his arms and rubbed soft circles into her back. 'Your grief has sent you wild.'

She looked at his face and saw tears on his skin. She choked out a fresh sob and whispered; 'I am _so_ sorry Thranduil-'

Thranduil tore the covers away and with it all her protection. He enfolded her in a fresh embrace until she relaxed and began to weep into his neck.

'Do not tell your Mother yet,' he breathed.

'Why?'

'For me,' he said softly. 'It is very important or I would not ask.'

'My Mother is not responsible-' Phe whispered.

'I pray she is not,' he agreed.

_It cannot be so. Valar help me, I must be wrong_!

**000**

Duven was a soft-framed man with a little extra fat. Phe had always thought it lent him a homely appearance which was very in keeping with his position. His healers skill was unparalleled but he did not need to touch Phe to discern what had happened.

'Your blood?' he questioned softly.

Phe avoided his eyes. Hers were sore and her throat, raw. Thranduil had gone to the window to hide the evidence of his grief in darkness. She felt alone in the sea of cushions but reassured by his familiar silhouette.

'She has been ill,' Thranduil said. 'She was sick every night for many days.'

'At night time?' Duven asked. 'That is strange but I suppose pregnancy takes each woman differently. There is nothing I can do but make you comfortable. I will fetch you something for the pain, my lady.'

After that Phe began to cry again but the recent funeral and the exhaustion of her Mother's grief had weighed heavy on her and she had few tears left to shed.

Thranduil caught Duven outside as he departed and he whispered to him;

'To the kitchens and check her glasses and cutlery and all food stores for the smell of nightshade. Find out immediately if any other is ill.'

'My lord,' Duven bowed. 'Do you suspect poisoning?'

'I do,' Thranduil whispered. 'Though I do not yet know who would do it.'

_I hope I am wrong._

Thranduil returned to his bed. Gently he reached for Phe and he drew her in for a soft kiss.

'Thranduil-' she sobbed.

'I have no words to comfort you,' he said softly.

'Just hold me, then,' she whispered. 'And let me hold you!'

**000**

Thranduil held Phe with one arm and let the rising water wash away their blood and tears. Tomorrow he would have to order this pool drained and cleaned. Her skin was wet and warm. Her soft breasts were pushed up against his chest. After a while she stopped trying to keep the mess that flowed from her body inside by will alone and she relaxed.

The hot water drained her tension and her latest tears plumbed the depths of her grief for both Father and elfling. Eventually she began to fall asleep. It was only a short nap but it was rest she desperately needed. When she woke their bodies were pressed comfortably together. Phe sighed into his throat and whispered that she loved him dearly. Thranduil smiled softly against her cheek.

He helped her from the pool. Phe felt the loss of his warmth too keenly. When he handed her a towel she pulled him down quickly and wrapped it around them both. Then she climbed sweetly into his lap.

She whispered to him; 'My Mother suffered with miscarriages. For many years. My Father would...take his anger out on her sometimes. He so wanted a son. I did not think you would do the same to me. I suppose I was just frightened.'

'I would never hurt you,' he said softly.

'It is not that I fear a beating _hir vuin_. Many a wife has taken one of those. I fear a broken heart should you come to hate me!'

Thranduil cast her a look that spoke clearly his thoughts on that.

'Really_ hiril vuin_,' he indulged a small smile. 'I thought we had come to know each other better than that.'

Phe opened her lips but he cut across her quickly.

'Speak to me no more of what you thought might be, or what you fear might come to pass. I will never hurt you. I will treasure you always.'

Then he said warmly; 'Must I avoid you, _meleth nin?_ For fear of another loss?'

'You mean...you would not make love to me?'

A nod.

'No! I do not want that. I cannot do without your touch. I need to _feel_ that you love me!'

Thranduil smiled and grabbed her waist. He hissed feircely; 'I _do_ love you,' as he kneaded her bottom.

Despite her current condition Phe felt herself growing wet. Her lips parted in surprise and her eyes grew dark. Thranduil leaned in to capture her mouth. Phe moaned softly when he pushed his tongue inside and the soft, wet reassurance of his kiss chased away any persisting doubts of his love for her. She responded helplessly, her hands stroking and squeezing and finding the spots he liked to have rubbed and pinched and warmed.

Thranduil started towards her, his hands suddenly strong and his member grown hard between them.

'I want you_ now_,' he said. 'Here on the floor. Does it hurt too much?'

Phe pulled him down.

'I do not want to deny you!'

Thranduil pushed her down on top of a towel hungrily and took her mouth as though he were starving for her warmth. Phe whimpered in delight when he cupped her breast in a warm, strong hand and bent to suck her nipple softly. Gently he slid into her body. He found her very hot and delightfully wet. If he ignored the presence of her blood it felt so good. He had rarely taken her at this time and now he made a note of how her body changed, how warm she felt and how her usual grip on him was a little slackened. He began to entertain visions of his fingers, one after the other, to see how many she could endure.

He began to thrust gently. As his pleasure built, his breaths became unsteady and he groaned her name, but before they could begin to truly enjoy her body, Phe gasped his name and cried; 'Stop, Thranduil!'

He pulled back quickly and searched her face. 'Did I hurt you?'

'The pains,' she whispered, 'They are not like normal. They are sharp and hot. It hurts.'

He gave her lips a soft kiss and whispered; 'Permit me, my lady,' he brushed a hand between her legs and his fingertips found her anus with the uncanny accuracy of one who had experimented before.

Phe blushed but she smiled and willingly rolled to offer him her bottom. Thranduil's expression grew hungry and he stiffened again. He gave her a finger to suck while he rubbed the lowest reaches of her back to ease her pains.

'Does that help?' he asked gently.

Phe nodded.

'Warmth always eases it,' she agreed.

'Do not fear,' he breathed. 'I am not going to hurt you. Have you tried this before?'

Phe shook her head. Thranduil ran a hand down her spine and pushed his hardened member against her bottom for the sensation of her flesh. He made an eager noise and began to tease her anus with his fingertip.

'Mmm-' she breathed happily as he rubbed her back and began to work the fingertip inside slowly. Every so often he stopped for a little more lubrication. Phe made a surprised noise when he managed the first finger.

'Thranduil...that burns. It feels quite nice!'

His desire flared like a dragon stretching its wings. He was not going to admit he had a liking for this. Stories of his experimentative youth could wait until a time as she was less likely to faint at the telling. He worked his finger in and out until Phe began to rock her hips against him.

'Thranduil! More!'

'Touch yourself,' he instructed her warmly. He pushed her hand between her legs. Phe flushed but willingly she did as he said and found that it felt much better that way. Then he eased a second finger inside and Phe bucked and arched her back eagerly.

'It hurts!' she moaned. 'How can it hurt and feel so good at the same time!'

Thranduil chuckled. Then Phe twisted to look at him. She had broken into the widest smile and her chocolate eyes filled with sudden mirth. Thranduil felt himself go stiff and tense. How desperately he wanted to lunge for her, cover her body with his and fill her until she screamed his name.

'It is as though I am a sort of virgin,' she said suddenly.

He chewed his lip as he watched her entertain that notion._ She knows too well how to arouse me!_

'Tell me about your first time,' he encouraged her.

'Rosdaer was afraid to fill me so he used his fingers first. At first it hurt too much but then he found this,' Phe gestured to the secret spot between her legs. 'And suddenly I went as wet as you make me.'

He gripped her hip and thrust the two fingers deeper. She arched willingly.

'This time _you_ are my first.'

Thranduil lost his composure. With his fingers deep in the heat of her back passage, he pushed the tip of his erection back inside her and felt her stiffen in anticipation of pain. He rubbed her back gently and shushed away her fears.

'If it is shallow it may not hurt you so.'

Phe was tense until she realised that it did not hurt any more than his fingers, as long as he did not thrust too deeply. She began to wriggle as he performed some sort of strange configuration which seemed intent to stretch her.

_'Meleth nin-'_ she breathed hotly.

Phe was not sure if she wanted to pull away or beg him for more. Both feelings warred within her until she found herself whimpering in pain but pushing against his hand in pleasure. Then he drew out his fingers and replaced them with his member. He pushed himself slowly inside her. Phe cried out.

_I was only teasing his desire but I do feel as though some forgotten innocence has just been taken! I can feel him in the most strange and sensitive way!_

He gave a gentle thrust. Phe grabbed the towels beneath her and squeaked in surprise and delight. Thranduil pushed her down until her chest touched the floor and her bottom was high in the air. Then he leaned over her back with a hand firmly gripping her hip and began to make love to her slowly. At first Phe thought she would have to stop him. It did hurt rather more than she had hoped but after a little while and the sudden presence of some unexpected lubrication, the pain began to blend into a peculiar pleasure than left her gasping and eager.

He gave her a little more, then more, until Phe was almost weeping with confusion. She had not imagined that it would feel so raw. It was as if he had gone deeper than anyone else had ever reached. Gasping, she told him so and found that he stroked her back and waist and moaned when he plunged into her again.

'Thranduil!' she finally gasped, her fingers finding his softly. 'More. Deeper! Please-'

He obliged her and Phe yelled in surprise and pleasure. He gave her another, then another of those deeper strokes and found that she angled her hips and spread her legs. Before he could indulge his own amusement that she obviously found a forbidden act so pleasurable, she began to tremble and climaxed with a cry, her face buried in the towels.

Thranduil hooked his fingers around her hips and ground against her. She was still trembling and whimpering when he released.

He drew carefully out and collapsed beside her. Phe came crawling into his arms, her eyes wide and apparently a little lost for words.

'Not a virgin any more,' he smirked, and let his eyes close softly.

Phe gave a soft laugh.

'You did not tell me yours,' she said.

For a long time he lay, naked and still a little messy with Phe in his arms. He played softly with her hair and ears, until their condition necessitated another bath. Then he told her very softly, in her ear;

'A beautiful woman who I had come to love dearly took me into the woods on her horse. She found a place under a great, white tree and there she kissed me. I was so shocked that I could not say anything. She told me to sit and then she climbed into my lap,' he smiled against her ear. 'She made love to me on the forest floor. When it grew dark she took me home and made love to me again!'

Thranduil pulled her close and gave her a soft kiss.

'She was something like wine, _meleth nin_. I could not get enough of her, like I cannot get enough of you.'

**000**

Phe did as Thranduil had bid her. Though she found it inordinately hard to avoid the subject, she did not say a word to Fae about the loss of their elfling. Dinner came and Phe claimed that she had been given business to attend to in the court to explain her distance that day. She sat beside Faendis and swallowed back all her tears.

Before she could break and tell her Mother all that had happened, Thranduil whisked her away to their chambers early. He sat in his chair with a book open on his lap. For want of grander entertainment, Phe had a bath run and undressed slowly. Thranduil watched her from behind the pages.

_Now we shall see. She has been well all day. Will she now become ill again? The lady would kill me if she knew of my suspicion, but if Phe is well then Faendis need never hear of it and if she is not, then I have more quarrel with her than she does with me!_

Thranduil listened to Phe bathe. For some time he thought that he had become suspicious and perhaps even a little paranoid. Then Phe jumped out of her bath and began to vomit. He left his book and went to hold her hair back. When she was done he helped her to dry herself and brought her to bed.

'Thranduil, I think I am sick-' she whispered.

He reassured her with a gentle rub. Not long after there was a soft knock at the door. Thranduil found Duven outside. He was carrying a cloth sack which he handed to the King. Thranduil drew the crystal goblet out and viewed the marks on the rim. _These must be the marks from her lips. I recognise the colour of the paint she uses._ He brought it to his nose.

'Nightshade,' he whispered.

**000**

Thranduil forbade anyone to speak of Phe's miscarriage to any of his court. That evening he made sure that Phe did not leave his side at dinner. If she rose for air he went with her. If she went to the privy, Olerydes was instructed to go too.

'You are pale, Phe,' Faendis said softly. 'Are you well?'

Phe nodded quickly. Earlier Thranduil had told her of the goblet. Now she gazed into her Mother's face searching for an answer to her pain.

_ You would not. You could not. He must be wrong. By the Valar he **has** to be wrong!_

'I have been a little unwell,' she said. 'It is getting better now.'

'Perhaps more rest,' Faendis said.

Phe visibly shrank._ She does not mean rest! She does not mean I am to sleep! She means that Thranduil and I should not make love. She does not understand that it is the only way I can show him how deeply I love him!_

'I will try to take some,' she nodded quickly.

Then Faendis passed her a glass of wine and said; 'Try this. It is delicious and it will help you sleep.'

Phe took it but she hesitated before she drank._ I** cannot** believe it. I must not or I would never trust again_. She sipped it. Then Thranduil rose.

'Alphiel,' he commanded. 'I have drunk far too much and so have you. Give me that before you overstretch yourself.'

Phe rose, confused and flushed as she handed it to him willingly. Thranduil took it from her hand and drank it down.

_So it** is** so. It is a faint odour, a minor dose but I know the smell._

When it was empty he placed it back on the table not far from Faendis' right hand. He offered Phe his hand.

'We will retire,' he said abruptly.

'Goodnight, my daughter,' Faendis gave her a gentle nod but did not look up from her plate.

'Goodnight, Mother,' Phe was blushing as Thranduil lead her away.

Within the privacy of their chambers Phe avoided Thranduil's eyes.

'It cannot be so.'

'We will see,' he murmured. Then he smiled darkly. 'I did not eat a bite, _hiril vuin._ I am_ ravenous.'_

Phe burst into laughter.

'You make it sound as though you might like to eat _me_!'

'I might,' he teased.

He settled in his chair instead with a book. Phe occupied the one beside him. They waited. It was not long before he sat forward and put the book down. Then without a word he stood sharply and made for the privy. Phe stared after him in shock. She crept around the corner to look at him and found him suffering her ailment. She grabbed his hair quickly and touched his forehead to see if he had a fever.

'There is no fever,' he choked, amused. 'Just a glass of poison.'

'You could have killed yourself!' Phe hissed at him. 'You are a _fool _Thranduil!'

'If she had killed you she would die too by my blade and this she knows. She did not want your death. Just the death of our elfling!'

Phe felt tears rise from her burning heart and she choked them back.

'I will kill her.'

'You will do **_nothing_**!' he commanded her, as he sat back to breathe. 'I will deal with Faendis. **Alphiel. Do you hear me?'**

Phe gazed into his crystal eyes with defiance, but finally she said; 'Yes, my lord.'

**000**

Thranduil called for Faendis to be brought before him. Then Legolas came alone and bowed to him.

'_Ada._ Faendis has fled into the forest.'

Thranduil rose slowly.

'Legolas? What is it? What is wrong?'

_'Ada_,' Legolas licked his lips. He laid both hands on Thranduil's arms. 'Phe has confronted her. She was hurt-'

Thranduil pushed past his son and ran. He took the steps two at a time. He cast off his coat as he went. It slowed his stride. His sword bumped his thigh. Legolas pursued him along the walkways. Thranduil skidded to a stop outside Faendis' chamber and found the room in darkness.

'No!' he lunged toward her. He pushed Duven aside and grabbed Phe from where she lay, pale as a spectre on the chaise.

If she was breathing, Thranduil could not see it. Her hands were slack and pale on her belly. She was cool and heavy. He put his head on hers and closed his eyes.

'No. _Meleth nin_.'

'Posion,' Olerydes licked her lips. 'She lives but she is so weak. Her soul has fled. It is the grief of betrayal.'

Thranduil brushed soft fingertips over her hand and bared his teeth in the crook of her neck. He twisted to speak to Legolas.

**'Go.** Tell the guards they ride until their horses fail. Bring her to me,_ Ionneg_. So that I may set her head at my feet for the life of my elfling.'

Legolas bowed and went without question.

'Bring her back,' Thranduil whispered to Olerydes.

He put his temple on hers and buried his hand in her hair.

'Bring her back,' he whispered.

**000**

Olerydes took Phe's head in both her hands. Her eyes fluttered closed. She sank into a world made of shapes and shadows. She searched through the shades which drifted like autumn leaves for the weakened soul that had fled Phe's body. Olerydes wandered the inner planes until she spied the shimmering, shaking veil that was the shade of her sister. Then she reached for the silver cord from which Phe had torn loose. Olerydes caught the ghost by her hand and plunged the cord into her belly. Then she closed her eyes in the Land of the Dead and waited.

_**He** will either come to stop me, or he will let her pass_.

For a minute she thought she might retrieve the shade without incident but then she felt the Lord of the Dead spread his dark presence over her back. Two ethereal hands, as thin as bones, spread over Olerydes shoulders. She shuddered as his tactile bridge flowered open and he joined with the edges of her mind, peering into the truth in her soul. In an instant he had taken her measure. Olerydes felt him search for her intention.

'I only want to take her home,' Olerydes whispered. 'Back to where she is needed.'

Olerydes felt him brush her baby briefly. Then the spectre released her shoulders and folded the darkness away. He eclipsed into a halo of light. Olerydes grabbed Phe's soul and pulled.

'Come back to the light,' Phe heard Olerydes first. 'Hear my voice. Come back to the light!'

Phe staggered through the aching dark towards the distant, hopeful pinprick. When she emerged from the tunnel she found pain in her heart, grief doubled for her Mothers betrayal. She almost turned to go back in, until a broken voice stopped her dead.

_ Thranduil! Thranduil is there and he is still alive!_

'Come back to me,' he whispered hoarsely, into her ear. '_Meleth nin._ I _need_ you!'

**000**

Legolas climbed to the top of the rookery steps and spied the rare white bird. He climbed the supports and offered his hand. The bird stepped up and offered his leg. Legolas bound the message to his foot.

'Fly swiftly, my friend. We have a great need for the Lady of Light and you must bring her because none other can go fast enough.'

When the Raven had flown, Legolas watched it go toward the setting sun and whispered a blessing to the wind. Then he said to the sky;

'We must save Phe. It is enough that darkness comes again to the lands of men, but to have it bleed into the hearts of elves. We will _all_ perish.'

**000**

Thranduil would not have listened to his wife in this, no matter if they had rushed their marriage forward, she would have had no say at all. When Faendis was brought to him he told her nothing of Phe's condition, not even when she pleaded with him to know if her daughter had survived. He took the lady under armed guard into the courtyard.

'Your last words, my lady.'

'They are beyond your understanding,' Faendis said softly.

Thranduil snapped; 'Do not flatter yourself with the hint of a great mystery unsolved! Your death will be unremarkable, your tale, swiftly forgotten. For my part I am sorry to have known you, but I am pleased indeed to return you to the fire.'

Thranduil's blade hissed free to follow his hands intention. In that instant, light blossomed from the centre point of the patio. It blinded him. His sword was torn from his hand. It clattered onto the stone. Out of the light a figure resolved like a burning star whose light died slowly. Faendis blinked at him in surprise as though she expected her head to come free from her neck at any moment. Thranduil cursed to see the Lady of Light standing before him.

_Who has summoned her! She has come to meddle in the affairs of my Kingdom!_

_'You,_ my Lady?' he recovered his composure swiftly. 'To what do we owe the honour of a visit from the Lady Galadriel?'

The Lady honoured him further with a peaceful smile. She gave him a soft bow of her head, which he returned politely. Then on silent feet that never seemed to truly connect with the ground, she crossed the courtyard.

'Do not sully your hand, my King,' she said softly.

_Her eyes are clearer than a mountain stream! Behind them I see the wisdom of the ages and the undiluted light of the Eldar! _

Thranduil felt the butterfly caress of a mind outside his. It was like a binding, except he felt no control over the fusion bright inside the Lady. He sensed that she was deeply amused by him. Seamlessly her voice faded away and she spoke to his mind. _**Turn her loose on the road. Her destiny lies elsewhere.** _

He made to tell her of Faendis' crime.

_**I know what she has done, King Thranduil.**  
_

'Take me to your bride.'

Thranduil saw little choice but to obey, so he retrieved and sheathed his sword and took the Lady to Phe, who was sweating under thick blankets in their chambers.

Olerydes sprang from her chair when she saw who accompanied her Father. She bowed quickly.

_**Rest, Olerydes, for your hands are weary.** _

'My Lady,' Olerydes whispered. 'You honour us.'

She took a quick step away from Phe and let the Lady sit beside her. Galadriel laid a gentle hand over Phe's and leaned into whisper a soft blessing near her ear.

'Her fragile heart is wounded. She lives still, within this body. It is a great love that brought her back.'

**_And one mark off witchcraft!_** she added. Olerydes bowed her head in shame and would not look up. Galadriel smiled softly.

'By the morning she will rise. Have no fear. She will live.'

**000**

Phe blinked softly as she woke. A warm hand was rubbing her back in the way she liked.

'Thranduil,' she whispered.

She turned over swiftly and buried herself in his embrace. Thranduil held her and would not let go. Then Phe sensed that they were being watched and she turned to look.

'In my dreams I saw a lovely face,' she whispered. 'Now I see it belongs to someone who is real.'

'Your strength returns,' Galadriel smiled warmly. 'I am glad.'

'You are the White Lady,' Phe said softly. 'You are Galadriel!'

'I will leave you,' she smiled and rose gracefully. When she had gone, Phe turned to kiss Thranduil softly.

_'Meleth nin._ Do you remember what happened-'

Phe covered his lips quickly with hers.

'Do not speak of it,' she begged him. 'I cannot bear it! Just kiss me. Please, Thranduil. _Please.'_

He nodded and did as she asked.

_It is better to forget than to dwell,_ he reasoned. _If this is her wish I will honour it._

**000**

Phe came to Olerydes. Before she could ask after her wellbeing, Phe enfolded her in a hug. She began to weep into her shoulder and Olerydes chuckled softly and stroked her hair.

'Where would I be without you,' Phe wept. 'I have been twice to the gates of death and twice you have saved me! You must have some otherwordly power, my sister.'

Olerydes gripped her warmly.

'Phe, it is love for you and love for my Father. I wish to be your truest friend.'

Phe choked; 'You are! You are so precious to me, Olerydes.'

'You are my sister,' Olerydes pulled away to kiss her cheek. 'Now, you must not think of them. You must not give them any more of your time. Both are gone from your life and we will not let Faendis near you again.'

Phe crumpled;

'Where is she?' she whispered.

'_Ada_ has not spoken to you about this?'

'She is dead,' Phe began to cry. 'He killed her, tell me I am wrong!'

'No, I will take you to _Ada_. He would be so angry with me if I spoke of it.'

**000**

Phe lay curled around a pillow. She would not speak and the only food or drink she would take was that which Olerydes or Thranduil brought for her. Thranduil came to hold her but little he did could stop her tears or the words that poured forth; a thousand confessions of how desperately she had disappointed her family. Though his heart bled for her he did not know what to say to ease that pain.

At first Phe was angry that he had allowed Faendis to leave without any punishment. She made to strike him but he caught her hand. She burst into tears and sank at his feet.

For many days she only wept. She would not take a bath with Olerydes, she would not leave her room and no amount of coaxing or encouragement would even set her on Lavachon for a ride through the spring flowers.

Galadriel had remained in Thranduil's kingdom. She passed her time walking the gardens and joined the musicians for their practise, where she found a certain peace sitting beside a young lady who had a particular gift for the harp. For the duration of her stay she made it her business to encourage this woman in particular, because she sensed a little destiny around her. It was also a distraction from her true purpose, which had so far gone unsaid.

Phe sank into a terrible depression, after which she became entirely, unnaturally quiet. That was when Galadriel insisted on taking a cup of tea with her.

Phe was visibly very uncomfortable to be with company. Galadriel put a gentle hand on the back of hers and broke the news.

'The poison has taken your womb. I did not come to break your heart. I came with aid.'

'What aid can you give me for a broken heart!' Phe cried.

'I will give you the aid you_ need_,' she said.

**000**

Thranduil waited for the Lady beside his throne. When she arrived, clean and fresh and as ethereal as her first appearance, he bowed and asked her;

'Why did you come to us? You have made no secret of your dislike for the Greenwood kin.'

'What I like is dislike is hardly important,' Galadriel spoke plainly for once. 'I must not lie, Thranduil. In the past I have found you childish and oftentimes arrogant. Your manner is petulant and your consumption of wine is of great concern to both your friends and your enemies. But we are kin and so we must not quarrel.'

'I do not pretend a liking for_ your_ way either.'

Galadriel laughed.

'Middle Earth stands upon the brink of disaster and you trade with me these paltry insults,' she shook her head in mirth. 'Come, brother. Speak to me for once as a sister. There is but a blink of time now before Valinor calls us home. Your children and mine are more important than the differences of our past.'

'In that I cannot fault you,' he agreed.

'She will bear you no children without my help. She is barren. Her Mother's poison has tainted her blood and taken her womb.'

Thranduil's expression tightened.

'And you wish to trade?'

'I wish to help,' Galadriel said softly. 'I will restore her. You will rejoin our council.'

Thranduil twitched with fury.

'How dare you-'

'If you will not help us then we will not help you.'

Thranduil leaned in, angry.

'I will give you nothing!' he hissed.

Galadriel did not flinch. She sighed a gentle breath.

'And yet so much has been given to you,' she said softly.

**000**

Phe was smiling when Thranduil went to her, when the White Lady had departed in an eclipse of brilliance. She caught his hands.

_Your smile is like sustenance. It is the best and brightest thing I have seen in so long that I would do anything to preserve it!_

'She laid her hands on me like this!' Phe breathed and demonstrated on his belly. 'I do not know what she said, they were very old words, but I felt warmth. This afternoon my bleeding stopped at last!'

Phe crawled into his lap and held him warmly. He began to feel as though sacrificing his pride had brought a greater reward then he could have hoped. Phe was smiling. He kissed her softly and marveled at her beauty.

'Do you despise me, _hir vuin_?' she whispered softly. 'I know you do not want to go to the council.'

'I would never despise you,' he smiled softly. 'You are right, I do_ not_ want to go. I may send Legolas. Galadriel will be most displeased but she is not the sort of rescind an offer of healing once it is done.'

He smiled in quiet self satisfaction.

'You tricked her,' Phe smirked.

'As she tricked me,' he nodded. He brushed fingertips over her belly and smiled. Phe caught his gaze and leaned in. Thranduil cupped her skull in one hand and returned her embrace and her kiss.

_So warm. So perfect. I cannot think how I went so long without you, meleth nin._

Phe let him push her gently onto her back. She gripped him eagerly when he began to touch her. She wrapped herself around him when he entered her and encouraged him with soft little cries of pleasure until they were both sweating under their clothes, both desperate, both so needy that their moans became uncontrolled pleas. Afterwards they lay together joined and sated. Thranduil took her mouth softly and finally slept curled around her body.

_'Gi melin,'_ she whispered to his sleeping face. '_Meleth nin._ Midsummer cannot come soon enough for me.'

* * *

_Translations_

_My Lady - Hiril Vuin _

_My lord - Hir vuin_

_My son = Ionneg _

_My daughter = Iellig _

_My love - Meleth nin_

_I love you – Gi melin_


	12. A New Life

**11. A New Life**

Much time passed and little was achieved in the outward sense. Within, however, much was solved for Phe by a practise she found in a book. Thranduil's library was well stocked indeed, full of fictions and tales which Phe enjoyed terribly. She could waste a whole day reading them. At least, until Thranduil distracted her. His librarian managed to find a copy of Phe's favourite book from an archive in the lands of men. Thranduil read it and Phe enjoyed watching him laugh.

When at last he put it down and crawled towards her, he mimicked the deep voice of the spirit from the pools.

_'Oh, my child, how beautiful you are-'_ he grinned. 'You are an inveterate _romantic_!' he accused her.

Phe kissed him warmly on the lips to silence him.

'Be quiet or take me. I am meditating!'

Thranduil grabbed her from her cross legged position and did exactly as she had bid him. When they were done, Phe lay cuddled against his ribs. She ran her fingers up and down his chest lazily.

'I think she enjoyed the spirits Fatherly way with her as much as his skill in bed!' Thranduil smirked at the top of Phe's head. She realised he was talking about the story. 'Perhaps I should have you call me _Ada _next time!'

Phe flushed and Thranduil felt it. He sought her face for a better look at her embarrassment and smirked mildly.

'I see,' he murmured. 'So _that_ is your secret fantasy.'

'Do you have any shame at all,_ meleth nin?_'

'I have grown out of it,' he purred.

Phe laughed. Thranduil rubbed a warm hand up and down her back and kissed her temple.

_'Gi melin,'_ he whispered.

'Oh, Thranduil,' she wrapped her arms around him suddenly and returned his whispered admission. He played with a curl of her hair and studied her sweet, brown eyes. 'My Thranduil,' she added softly.

He smiled, 'My Phe.'

He slid out of her grasp to nuzzle her thigh and then parted her legs to lick her center. Phe gasped and grabbed his head. She moaned as he flicked his tongue gently over her nerves. He had found her sweet spot a couple of months before and he slid a single finger gently inside to rub it until she began to moan and gasp and grind her hips against him. Phe shuddered, her body on fire. Even the air in her lungs burned. Light welled up behind her eyes and she wanted to reach for him and drag him down to make love to her properly but it was too late.

He made a soft, low sound against her core and she whimpered, then moaned. He slid a second finger inside she bucked uncontrollably as her orgasm came from nowhere to make her yell and arch and humiliate herself utterly on his hand. When she was done he withdrew his fingers and sat back to watch her pant, rosy cheeked and spread before him. His self satisfied smirk made her warm inside. He shed his shirt in one swift move and laid his body between her legs. Phe moaned when he kissed and licked her neck. He rubbed himself against her opening.

'Do you want it?' he breathed.

'Yes!' she sighed eagerly. 'I want _all_ of it.'

'How badly do you want it?' he crooned, taking her earlobe between his teeth and using his tongue to tease her until she squirmed and grew even wetter.

_'Please_ Thranduil-' she moaned, opening her legs wider.

'I have something for you,' he teased her. 'It is hot and thick and you will like it.'

Phe wrapped her legs around him. He smiled into her neck and slid home. He let out a soft moan and a hot breath when he began to thrust and found her as warm and willing as ever. Phe grabbed his back and urged him on.

'My lady-' he teased her with the old title. 'How good you feel. So _tight_-' he bit the word out next to her ear and enjoyed her helpless moan. 'And _wet!'_

Phe shuddered. 'Yes!' she cried, her body arching and pleading for more. She tilted her hips and dragged him down. Thranduil bit her throat gently and tangled his free hand in her hair. Her thighs trembled around him, her mind full of the brightness, full of love. He kissed her more deeply than usual. Phe felt as though he was trying to take her twice, once between her legs and once between her lips. She made a helpless noise and grabbed him eagerly, only for a second orgasm to rush through her unexpectedly. She collapsed with a satisfied moan. Then Thranduil groaned and buried himself deep. A moment later he slid from her body wet and glistening. Before he could move off her to let her breathe she dragged him down. He resisted for a moment before he realised she wanted to be squashed, then with a smile he let her have his weight and put his face in her hair.

'Mmmm,' she breathed, as she gave his backside a little squeeze. 'You are heavy, my lord. It is because you are all _muscle_. I like this one best,' she pushed her hips against him softly so that he took her point. He laughed and though he was far too sensitive he pushed her favourite part against her soft, wet core and whispered back;

'I am all muscle so that I can protect you.'

Phe found herself pinned beneath his body and his gaze. She met his eyes suddenly feeling very vulnerable. Thranduil's lids fluttered closed when he kissed her. He buried a warm hand in her hair and took her mouth to his satisfaction. When he was done he put his nose in her throat and breathed the smell of her skin and sweat.

'Will you, my lord?' she asked softly. Phe already knew the answer but there was some deep, aching need in her belly to hear it.

'For as long as I draw breath,' he said softly.

He moved to give her some air and settled at her side where he tangled his fingers warmly with hers. Phe rolled into his arms and wrapped hers around his chest. Then she shut her eyes and went to sleep in his arms and he followed her, content.

**000**

'You know, I think there is much benefit in this,' she held up the book from which she had learned how to meditate. Thranduil plucked it from her fingers.

'In what sense?'

'Since I began, I have felt much better in general. I keep seeing strange things, too. Yesterday I sat so long that my mind began to journey inside me! As clear as day I saw a great light shining! It gave me comfort. It spoke and said it had love for me. I believed it, it felt so real, as though the Valar themselves were staring back at me from within! Odd, is it not? Do you think I have gone mad?'

Thranduil closed the book and shook his head.

'Not moreso than usual.'

Phe slapped him playfully. 'You should try it. It is very calming actually. It is as if the whole world stops turning. It is peaceful.'

Thranduil smiled and kissed her throat.

'I do not need meditation to make my world stop turning,' he said suggestively. 'But I will admit I have seen much improvement in your mood and manner of late. You do not lose our temper so quickly, for one thing, and you do not have so many low moods. Your spirit seems to be here, not dwelling on the past. If this practise helps you then I encourage you.'

Phe smiled warmly at him. 'And I encourage _your_ way,' she smirked at him. He teased her nipple for it and before long she was on her back again.

**000**

Phe found Legolas in the stables, brushing his horse down. She came to lean on the divide and watched him work. When he saw her standing there he offered her a small, hopeful smile. Phe came around the divider and touched the horses neck. Legolas gazed at her. How she had changed. Not so shy now, though just as gentle.

'It is strange to think you will soon be our Mother. Of sorts,' he said.

'I am far too young to be your Mother,' Phe smiled. ''But perhaps one day Anion and Leesha will think of me that way. Legolas...I know his death plays on your mind.'

Legolas' smile faded. He had been waiting for this. Her final rebuke.

'Brother,' she finally said softly and she caught his eyes and then his hand. 'I was grieving. I did not come to you sooner because I did not know what to say. You have been a true friend and a protector to me. I habour no ill will for you. It is done and you need not seek my forgiveness any more. It is given.'

Legolas licked his lips and for a moment he seemed about to speak, then tears rose unbidden and before he could excuse himself Phe grabbed him and drew him down into a hug. He was quite a bit taller but she managed it all the same. She squeezed him gently for a moment. He swiped tears off his face.

'I did not expect this,' he confessed.

Phe shrugged.

'I think...my Father bought forth his own death. Of _the other_ I will not speak. She has no place in my life and no place in my heart. I will not even utter sounds of her. I would not honour her memory.'

Phe released his hand.

'I would be your sister, if you will let me?'

'Yes,' he nodded quickly. 'You do not need to ask me. You are part of our family already. _Ada_ has seen to that,' he smiled.

**000**

Phe opened the door to Olerydes chambers and found the girl still abed. She crept quietly inside, wondering if Olerydes was sick. Phe put a hand on her shoulder.

'Olerydes? It is almost lunch time, are you still asleep?'

Phe leaned over and saw that Olerydes' fingers were covered in blood. Phe made to shake her in panic but Olerydes opened her eyes as if she were waking from a nap. Her smile faded into a grimace.

'I was sleeping,' her voice was edged with pain.

Then Phe saw the bedcovers were soaked. She pulled them back slowly.

'Olerydes...did you wet yourself?'

'No,' she whispered. 'Phe. Will you fetch _Ada_ for me? I do not think it will be long now.'

Phe stood slowly as the penny dropped.

'The baby?' she whispered. She fled from the room and ran to find Thranduil. He was in the small council meeting. She ran into Legolas at the bottom and caught him by the arms.

'I must run more, I cannot breathe!' she complained. 'The baby is coming! Olerydes is asking for Thranduil.'

A few minutes later, Thranduil emerged and handed his crown to his son.

'The chamber needs you as she needs me.'

When Legolas had gone inside to take his Father's place, Thranduil took Phe by the hand.

'Fetch Duven,' he said.

Thranduil was not surprised to see Olerydes in bed. Inside, he could smell blood. As crossed the bedroom, his heart nearly in his throat, Olerydes rolled over painfully to look at him.

'Ada,' she whispered, clearly very relieved to see him. Thranduil slid onto the bed beside her and took her hand. After a minute she turned to bury her nose in his leg.

'It hurts so much,' she whispered.

'How long since the pain began?' he asked softly. 'Why did you not call for us?'

'Since breakfast,' she said.

Thranduil was suddenly glad he had not lied to her. He shifted and felt the wet sheets.

'Olerydes. We must change the bed or you will be cold.'

'No,' she shook her head, 'I cannot move. It hurts too much.'

'You must,_ Iellig.'_

The door creaked open and Phe tip toed in as though it were a temple with Duven behind her.

Phe was glad when Duven made no comment on Thranduil's presence.

_Perhaps it would have been as he said!_ Phe pushed down all thoughts of her elfling with grim determination._ I will not think of him. I will look to the future or the past will swallow me. I do not wish to drink that tea three times a day again!  
_

Phe stripped the bed as she was instructed and layered towels down where Olerydes was to sit. Then she put sheets on top even though it was clear they - and the bed - would be ruined by morning. Then Thranduil lifted Olerydes back onto it and resumed his position at her side. After that excitement, very little happened for some time.

Phe had not realised how long childbirth would take. She was still sitting in the same chair, on the opposite side to Thranduil, two hours later. She was getting hungry but not so hungry as Olerydes, who had already polished off three pieces of fruit and a sandwich. Thranduil peeled an apple and cut it methodically. He handed the pieces to her and rubbed her shoulder through what looked to be a very uncomfortable few minutes. Phe felt a bit like a fly on the wall, especially since Olerydes seemed too preoccupied with pain to say much.

Phe had almost dozed off. An afternoon tea was brought in and carried away again. Duven had come and gone with hot blankets and food and whatever herbal concoctions he thought were necessary. He was back with a pile of towels before Olerydes yelped and climbed the bed, as if trying to escape the pain might ease it. Thranduil grabbed her swiftly. He stroked her hair and waited while she struggled through. Phe felt sick. She had never seen anyone go so white before. It would have been easier if Olderydes made more noise but her silence hinted at a worse discomfort than yelling might have.

By the time the girl breathed again, she was almost green and Phe had the good sense to pass a bowl at Thranduil's gesture. He must have known what she was going to do. Phe was not prepared to watch her throw up and then sag against her Father.

'It _hurts_!' she gasped. _'Ada!'_

The panic in her voice made Phe go dizzy but Thranduil stroked her warmly until she relaxed a little.

'Hush,' he breathed, stroking her forehead. 'Save your strength.'

Suddenly Phe felt very out of place here, as if watching it was certainly far harder than doing it. Thranduil wiped Olerydes forehead with a cloth and gathered up her hair to drape it over his shoulder. Then he put his lips on her temple while she tried to breathe and whispered so many little encouragements that Phe tuned them out after a while. Olerydes gripped his hand.

_How boring_, thought Phe, as another hour ticked by and all that changed was how Olderyes squirmed. It seemed her breathing got harder and there were more of those times when she yelped and gripped his hand. They seemed to be coming closer and closer together. Phe spent the next half an hour holding her hand and counting them. Certainly they were coming faster. Once Olerydes closed her eyes and went to sleep between them.

Phe looked at Thranduil questioningly.

'Let her rest,' he whispered. 'She will need all her strength soon. It is close now.'

There was another round with the bowl shortly after and then Duven returned with some more heat. Phe wanted to point how unfair this was on women everywhere.

Then Olerydes woke sharply and made a horrible noise, half way between a choke and a sob and her whole body tensed. Phe turned to look at her in shock. She had never heard anyone make a sound like that before. Thranduil wrapped Olerydes tightly in his arms and whispered that it would be over soon. The pains gave her no time to breathe. Before one had died the next was rising. Phe was sure Olerydes would have screamed if she had the air for it.

Phe regretted standing where she might see what Duven was doing. It looked almost sexual but he must have found whatever he was feeling about for inside her. He nodded and wiped his hands. Phe wondered what that was about. Then Thranduil stroked Olerydes' hair back warmly and said;

'Push, _Iellig_.'

Olerydes shook her head. Asking that on top of her suffering was clearly too much. Her Father gripped her hand firmly.

'You do not have a choice,' he said. 'Push and it will be over faster. Take her hand, Phe.'

Phe did as he said. She found Olerydes a good deal stronger than she looked. Phe winced. Again she thought that screams would have been easier than this quiet agony but before long she was gratified with a lot more noise. Pained little gasps, the most horrible moans and eventually a cry that had surely wrenched itself right from the pit. Phe wished dearly it would be over so that she did not have to stare at her own future any longer.

Phe was embarrassed to find her hands shaking. Later she could lie and say it was excitement but it was cold fear really. Thranduil was enviably calm, but Phe knew his eyes well enough to discern his worry. He had positioned Olerydes between his legs. He was holding her in a cage of his arms and whispering to her when she yelled in pain.

He glanced at Phe as Olerydes choked out a horrible sob and Duven nodded silently to him.

'I would sit,' he warned Phe.

'Why?' Phe unwisely questioned. Then she sat, because Duven was messing with something between her spread legs. Olerydes made a noise that Phe would not forget any time soon. She gasped in a lungful of air and buried her tears in her Father's chest. Suddenly a small, red, moving thing was removed from her and wrapped swiftly in a blanket.

Phe was suddenly dizzy. All the blood seemed to have rushed into her feet. Then the pink blob _wailed_. The noise was startling after so long in the silent, painful process and far worse than Olerydes weeping, it sounded panicked and far too loud. Phe grabbed the bed but it was too late. The next thing she felt was a cold, wet cloth on her head and she blinked her eyes open to look up at Duven, who was gazing back, concerned.

Phe sat up, feeling as though she might like to use the bowl herself. The wailing had stopped. Olerydes lay on her side with her hand buried in a pink blanket and her arm hooked gently around her elfling. Sitting behind her, Thranduil rubbed her back gently. Phe stood up and found her legs shaking.

Thranduil rose to catch her hands and offered her a smile that spoke of great amusement.

'You need some air. Open the curtains. Shall we see what effort has brought?'

_I will faint again. I do not want to look at it!_ Phe remembered too well the gooey, bloody, wailing mess that was allegedly a baby as it slithered uncomfortably from her sisters body. Light flooded the room and Phe worked up the courage to take a look.

She found a clean, very pink, sleeping elfling and so long as she kept her eyes off the pile of used towels there was no blood to be seen.

Olerydes smiled tiredly and reached for Phe's hand. She drew Phe down and pulled the blanket back. Phe gazed at the little pink face and a rush of love and excitement came over her so suddenly that she was surprised by her own emotions.

'You fainted,' Olerydes smiled. 'I cannot say I blame you.'

'Olerydes...you were so brave,' Phe peered into the little face. 'I have never seen an elfling so young...when my sister was born she was kept from me. She passed before I could meet her.'

Thranduil glanced up at her in apparent surprise but said nothing.

'She is so beautiful,' Olerydes whispered and she ran the tip of her finger through the girls thin, dark hair.

'She has your dark hair, too,' Phe smiled widely. 'Can she hear us?'

'Yes, of course!' Olerydes smiled. 'She knows she has been born.'

'How do you know?'

'I hear her feelings,' Olerydes smiled blissfully.

_She looks so happy. I think I actually envy her despite all the pain she had endured. Perhaps it is worth it when you have the baby at the end of it?_

Phe glanced at Thranduil and found his eyes pink. She guessed there had been tears while she was unconscious. Now she felt her own rising. Olerydes chuckled.

'Come on, Phe,' she teased. 'You are the only one who has not wept! _Ada_ was sobbing when she was placed in his hands. You should have seen him!'

'I am entitled to weep,' he said defensively. 'I am a Grandfather finally. Shall I be Grandpa or Granddad?'

He leaned over to touch his granddaughters head. He smiled so softly that Phe broke up suddenly and had to find the kandkerchief she had stowed in her gown.

'Grandpa,' Phe choked happily. 'Grandpa Thranduil.'

He smiled contentedly and rubbed the tiny hand with the tip of his thumb and forefinger.

'Phe,' Olerydes said softly. 'Hold her? You will see how soft she is. You will want one of your own.'

Phe shook her head quickly.

'I might drop her, I cannot-' she protested but Thranduil scooped up his granddaughter gently and placed her in Phe's arms. He steadied her until she had the hang of it, then he stood back to admire. The baby woke, wriggled a bit and reached with a tiny hand for something to hold onto. Thranduil provided a finger and Phe laughed.

'Oh, she is perfect,' she said softly. 'So perfect. Look at her hands, she is lovely!'

Thranduil felt arousal stir in his belly. Now he knew how Phe would look with her own child. He desperately wanted to give her one. Then Phe burst into tears again while she was still smiling. She vaguely heard Thranduil and Olderyes laugh but she was too busy, too fascinated, and too excited to pay much attention to them.

A feeling had risen from the depths of her stomach. A sudden, burning urge to try again. Phe caught Thranduil's gaze and held it.

_Sometimes I feel as if he can read my mind!_

'Will she soon have a little brother or sister to play with then?' Olerydes put in merrily.

Thranduil was pleased to see that Phe did not blush at all. He touched her face softly. His eyes communicated all that he wanted to say.

'Yes,' Phe whispered to him very softly. Thranduil leaned in and kissed her hotly. Olerydes made a noise of amusement.

**000**

With no reason to rush their marriage, the wedding was held the next summer, when grieving was done and a whole year could be devoted to their closeness and commitment to each other. A gentle wind stirred the Summer flowers as Phe trod over the soft grass. Her gown trailed behind her, as white as the fresh flowers that had been braided into her hair. She wore a veil at Thranduil's request. She would have been happy to leave it off but he said he wanted to unwrap her later and Phe was not complaining.

Legolas wore a crown of flowers, wound through a circlet that flattered the colour of his eyes with a single blue gem. Olerydes held her daughter, who was conspicuously silent. Leesha was beside herself to be a bridesmaid and Phe thought Anion could have looked more comfortable in his outfit. His _Ungol_ was a slightly strange addition to their day. She was bigger than Anion now and as soft as a brush. She still wore her new saddle from an earlier ride and Anion had tied a couple of flowers onto each of her knees. Daeben did not seem to care. Privately, Phe thought she looked ridiculous but it was a story she would be able to tell her children one day.

Thranduil wore embroidered white and his crown was decorated with the same flowers as were in Phe's hair. Standing before the Mage, he offered her his hands. Phe took them and revelled in the soft strength that radiated through his touch.

She held back her tears by a thin thread as their hands were bound with a single white thread. Weeping on her own wedding day would not be so becoming but she wanted to all the same. Thranduil looked quietly overcome. Phe took some comfort in that. It was good to know she was not alone in this ocean of feelings.

She spoke her vows softly and listened with a lump in her throat as he spoke his. Then he leaned down for a soft, sweet kiss and Phe kissed him back and then burst into happy tears. He grabbed her with a gentle chuckle and pressed their lips together again. With warm, dry thumbs he wiped away the tears and pulled her against his chest.

_'Gi melin,' _he whispered to the top of her head. Phe wrapped her arms around his chest.

'Until the last day I will love you, _meleth nin_,' Thranduil added, his hand warm and reassuring in hers.

'Endlessly I will love you,' she said softly when they broke apart. 'And all our children.'

'If ever we are blessed,' he smiled.

'_When_ we are blessed,' she caught his gaze and smiled her final consent.

He drew her in and touched her cheek tenderly. 'Until Valinor. Until the end,' he whispered.

* * *

**END**

**A/N** - A massive **Thank You** to everyone who took the time to review. This has been a challenge and a pleasure to write, made easier by your encouragement. It's taken me about eight weeks, working exclusively on this story every day, to complete it. Each chapter took me at least five sweeps through and one reading out loud to check for errors, so as you can imagine I'm absolutely knackered but it was well worth it! :D

Please continue to let me know if you get to the end and you enjoyed it ;)


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